Drought: UP expands districts beyond Bundelkhand for free ration

Decision follows the weatherman prediction of a week's delay in the arrival date of monsoon to southern Indian shores

To provide succor to the poorest of the poor in drought hit areas, Uttar Pradesh government has included four more districts flanking Bundelkhand region for the disbursal of free ration.

Now apart from the 7 districts of Bundelkhand and another Kanpur City district, poor families covered under the 'Antyodaya' scheme in 4 more districts would qualify for receiving the monthly quota of free food packets provided by the state as drought relief.

The decision to expand the scope of districts for providing the free ration comes on the heels of the weatherman predicting a week's delay in the arrival date of monsoon to southern Indian shores.

The estimated delay would cascade a week's delay in the arrival of monsoon to the Eastern region of UP as well. The normal date of the arrival of monsoon in UP is June 18.

The free ration comprises 10 kg each of flour and rice, 5 kg gram flour, 25 kg potato, 5 kg mustard oil, besides ghee, milk powder, sugar, iodised salt and turmeric powder.

Bundelkhand comprises Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jaluan, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot districts, which have been facing the spectre of drought for the last three years.

Last month, a 10-member central team had toured Bundelkhand and the adjacent Kanpur City district to take stock of the drought situation and assess the quantum of relief package for UP.

The government has set a target of installing 5,786 new hand pumps and re-boring 3,527 existing ones by July 2016.

Last year, 50 of the total 75 districts were declared drought hit in UP due to sub-optimum rainfall. During 2015-16 rabi season, the actual sowing and production in these district had fallen short of targets. The government has demanded a central package of Rs 1,261 crore over damage to rabi crops.

Meanwhile, the government has suspended land revenue recovery in the districts affected with natural disasters, including floods, hailstorms etc, which had caused havoc with agricultural crops over the last year.

UP chief secretary Alok  Ranjan has already directed revenue officials to suspend revenue recovery in the affected districts till September 2016.