Chhattisgarh Govt. to opt for 'employment-oriented relief work' for drought affected districts

The Chhattisgarh government-led by Chief Minister Raman Singh asserted that it will be taking various measures to provide relief to drought-hit districts of the state.

21 of its 27 districts of Chhattisgarh are drought-hit.

While addressing the press conference here after state cabinet meet, Higher Education and Technical Education Minister Prem Prakash Pandey said that the Chhattisgarh government has decided to immediately begin employment-oriented relief work.

"The state government will supply uninterrupted power supply for irrigation pumps to make use of available water for agriculture. The state government will also send proposal to the centre to provide each family with 200 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), instead of the 100 days that is normally ensured," Pandey said.

The state cabinet has also decided to ban irrigation from the summer crop tubewell, considering the ground water level.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to forgive the land levy as well.

"The Chhattisgarh government will also send a proposal to the union government on resolving the water crisis, and seek diesel and seed subsidy for the affected regions in the state," Pandey said.

The number of tehsils declared drought-hit are four in Raipur, three in Gariyaband, six in Balodabazar, five in Mahasamund, four in Dhamtari, three in Durg, four in Balod, five in Bemetra, nine in Rajnandgaon, four in Kawardha, four in Kondagaon, two in Narayanpur, seven in Kanker, five in Dantewada, four in Bijapur, eight in Bilaspur, three in Mungeli, six in Raigarh, four in Janjgir-Champa, one in Korba and five in Koriya district.

The cabinet meeting was attended by Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Rajesh Murat, ministers like Prem Prakash Pandey, Kedar Kashyap, Punnulal Mohiley, Dayaladas Baghel, Ajay Chandrakar and all Cabinet Ministers and CS Vivek Dhand.