Rajasthan, Manipur seek central assistance to deal with drought: Tomar

Only Manipur and Rajasthan sought assistance from the Centre to deal with drought during Kharif 2019 season, while Karnataka has not yet submitted a memorandum in this regard, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Tomar said Manipur and Rajasthan have already submitted memoranda seeking financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

Manipur has declared drought in 15 districts, including Bishnupur, Chandel, Churachandpur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Jiribam, Kamjong, Kakching, among others. The state has 16 districts.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, has declared drought in 4 districts namely Barmer, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, he added.

The State of Karnataka has not submitted any Memorandum seeking financial assistance from NDRF for Kharif 2019 season, Tomar said.

In the eventuality of notified natural calamities, state governments are empowered to initiate necessary relief measures from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), which is readily available with them, the minister said.

Additional financial assistance, over and above SDRF, is considered from NDRF, on receipt of memorandum from state governments and in accordance with extant norms and procedures, he added.