Providing all possible relief to drought-hit areas: UoI to SC

The Centre today told the Supreme Court that it is alive to the situation prevailing in the drought-hit areas and states are working hard to provide every possible relief to the farmers in such natural calamity hit areas.
"We are completely alive to the situation faced in the drought hit areas. States are working hard to provide relief to the farmers. We are committed and we will do whatever is possible," Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha told a bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and N V Ramana.
He said that it was incorrect allegations made that nothing is done and nothing is working at the ground level is not correct.

"We have not violated in any statute. Any occasion to think that things are not working is wrong. There is more to than meets the eyes," Narsimha said adding that the report of Belgian-born Indian development economist Jean Dreze and Swaraj Abhiyan regarding the relief not being given to farmers is not correct.
To this the bench said that people may have different opinion about different situations and Centre does not need to worry about that.
Narasimha said that the petitioner have to say more than the allegations and there has been no dereliction of duty on anyone's part as whatever is provided in the statute is being followed.

The bench after hearing the arguments reserved its judgement on the matter.

Earlier, on April 19, the apex court had told the Centre that whether it was not its responsibility to warn the states about the drought like situation likely to prevail in the near future.
Earlier, the court had expressed its concern over low compensation paid to calamity-hit farmers and observed that it was leading some of them to commit suicide.
The NGO, in its revised prayer, has sought a direction to Centre to abide by the provisions of MNREGA Act and use it for employment generation in drought-affected areas.

The PIL filed by the NGO has alleged that parts of 12 states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Chattisgarh were hit by drought and the authorities were not providing adequate relief.