Maharashtra gets Rs 501-cr Central aid

Sharad Pawar, now Union Food and Agriculture Minister, accompanied the team to the Prime Minister. Pawar said the aid was ‘‘just a beginning’’, and it would be released with ‘‘immediate effect’’. This is inimical to former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s style. Naidu would swoop down on Delhi and get the largest chunk of the relief pie, leaving out states like Rajasthan high and dry.

It is true that some parts of Maharashtra have been suffering from drought for the past four years. However, it is also scheduled to have Assembly elections in a few months from now. The area worst affected is the Western Maharashtra and Marathwada region. The sugarcane production has reduced by half, claimed Shinde’s letter to the Prime Minister. According to Pawar, 60 mills out of the 140 are sick because of a fall in the production of sugarcane, and they are also facing other problems.

The state has organised large scale relief operations in 71 talukas of 11 districts. Some 10.5 lakh people are getting relief employment, and 700 cattle camps have been set up. Besides this, the state also claims of having already spent Rs 1,500 crore.

Shinde, in November, had requested Central assistance worth Rs 1,712 crore towards drought relief, of which, the previous government had released only Rs 77.46 crore. Two Central teams visited Maharashtra last year following repeated demands by the state.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister on Friday, requested the Centre to release the balance Rs 1,635 crore and six lakh tonnes of foodgrains.

Pawar also indicated that the Centre would soon re-constitute the Central Committee to look into similar demands of other states. There would also be a change in the guidelines for releasing drought assistance, he indicated. The disaster management cell was headed by former DPM L.K. Advani during the rule of the NDA government.

‘‘Speedy disbursal of men and material to states hit by natural calamities is required. It is the joint responsibility of the Centre and the states, and there is a lot of scope for improvement,’’ he said.

Presently, the guidelines only provide 10 days’ work in a month to drought affected people and the Food For Work Programme is only for people living below the poverty line.

‘‘This distinction of people below the BPL is not right during times of drought,’’ said Pawar.