Half the country drought-hit

246 districts declared affected; saving standing crop top priority, says govt.

Close to half the country is reeling under drought or drought-like situation, with the number of districts affected rising to 246, as a poor monsoon has brought 29 per cent less rainfall, damaging standing crop.

“Ten states have declared 246 districts as drought-affected. It comes to about 46-47 per cent of total districts in the country. This year, there is 29 per cent less rainfall. This has affected crops in many states,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on the sidelines of a meeting with state food ministers here.

As the number of districts witnessing drought has been revised sharply upwards from 207 two days ago, the government said its main focus would now be on saving the standing crop and offsetting some losses in output during the coming Rabi season.

“First, our top priority is to save the standing crop. For this, (all affected) states can give subsidy on diesel and power to save crops, if required,” Pawar said.

“Punjab and Haryana have informed the Centre that paddy crop in the state will be saved,” he said, adding, however, that these two states have also said productivity would be lower this time due to less water supply.

The Centre has also asked states to lift more seeds for replanting the crops, if necessary, as it has about 1.5 million tonnes of surplus stock.

These apart, the government is laying more stress on increasing output during the Rabi season.

“Our main focus will be on the Rabi where there is assured water supply to the field. There is substantial improvement in the water level of reservoirs during the past one-and-a-half months,” Pawar said. He said states had been asked to focus on compensating the production loss during the Kharif season in Rabi season.