The Centre approved a relief package of Rs 5,083 crore for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra on Tuesday. Maharashtra declared drought in 48 districts due to deficit monsoon rainfall this year. Maharashtra will get an assistance of Rs 3,050 crore, while Madhya Pradesh will get Rs 2,033 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
A decision was taken in the meeting of the high-level committee (HLC) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh held on Monday.
The HLC approved the assistance from the NDRF in respect of Madhya Pradesh to the tune of Rs 2,033 crore and Rs 3,050 crore for Maharashtra.
Official Statement
A total of 10 states including Uttar Pradesh and Odisha have declared drought in more than 280 districts in the country this year. The Centre has already approved a relief package of Rs 1,540 crore for Karnataka and Rs 1,275 crore for Chhattisgarh.
The central teams have visited other drought-hit states and are in the process of submitting the reports. HLC will take a decision on those proposals in the next meeting.
Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture Minister
Last year, the rainfall deficit was 12 percent. Deficits were experienced even as there were floods in some other parts of the country.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)