Chavan flays Centre's farm policy

"Many policies for agriculture are taken in Delhi with Punjab, Haryana, UP and Bihar before the eyes and not looking at the states like Maharashtra which is a rain-fed state," Chavan said while speaking at a Ficci meet here.

Sharad Pawar, the head of Chavan-led alliance partner NCP in Maharashtra, is the Union agricultural minister.

Only 17-18 percent of area in Maharashtra is irrigated while it is only nine per cent in certain pockets like Amravati district in the drought-prone Vidarbha region, he said.

Compared to this, states like Punjab, Haryana, UP and Bihar in the Gangetic plains and elsewhere have perennial rivers which ensure a 100 percent irrigation, he pointed out.

Chavan said many tehsils on the east of the Sahyadri ranges are facing drought conditions at present.

The state government has appealed for a Rs 2,200-crore drought relief from the Centre in view of the ongoing crisis, of which Rs 1,118 crore is being sought as an immediate measure.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also said the government is contemplating to pass the excess milk powder--lying in godowns due to a ban on its exports--for poor children.