Central team to study damage caused by drought in TN

The 10-member team deputed by the Centre to assess the drought situation in Tamil Nadu today met Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his cabinet colleagues, stating that they would undertake a statewide tour to assess damage.

The team, headed by National Co-operative Development Corporation Managing Director Vasudha Mishra, met the Chief Minister and five of his cabinet colleagues.

Mishra said in a statement that the team would "extensively" tour the state and submit its report.

"The team will study the damage caused due to drought across the state in four groups and return to the capital city on January 25, before leaving for Delhi," she said.
 

Earlier, during their brief interaction, Panneerselvam said there was a 62 per cent rainfall deficit during the North East monsoon in Tamil Nadu. The total rainfall was 168.33 MM against the normal 440.4 MM, he said.

"All 32 districts in Tamil Nadu received deficit rainfall ranging from 35 per cent to 81 per cent," he said in a release.

The Chief Minister also attributed the state's ongoing dispute with Karnataka over non-release of its share of water from the Cauvery river as having "further worsened the situation".

He said most reservoirs in the state were at "critical level" as 15 major reservoirs had just 13 per cent of its total capacity as on December 31, 2016.

The combined storage capacity in four major water reservoirs catering to Chennai and its neighbourhoods was only 1.347 TMC feet, as on January 21 as against the 9.503 TMC feet capacity in 2016, he said.

Stating that the government had undertaken a detailed assessment of drought, he said 13,305 of 16,682 villages in Tamil Nadu had been identified as drought affected.

In 87 per cent of the villages, he said the extent of damage was more than 50 per cent.

"The situation is likely to worsen in the ensuing months (during summer)," the AIADMK leader said.

Pannerselvam requested the team to take a statewide tour to study the severity of the situation and also explained to them the damage caused by cyclone 'Vardah' that hit the coast on December 12.

"Funds are needed for providing relief to farmers for crop damage, drinking water supply and ensuring adequate fodder and water needs," he said.

He said the state government took up relief work, including providing drinking water at cost of Rs 510 crore as funds under the State Disaster Response Fund was "exhausted".

"An amount of Rs 3,400 crore was provided for employment generation in rural areas, Rs 78 crore for fodder and Rs 25 crore for water conservation works," the Chief Minister added.