The Central government has approved assistance to the tune of Rs 791 crore to Telangana in drought relief from the National Disaster Reief Fund (NDRF). The decision came after a Central team visited the drought-affected districts of the state last month.
The central team had visited 231 drought-hit mandals in the state. While the drought loss was estimated at Rs. 3,000 crore, the state government sought Rs 2000 crore from the Centre and urged an immediate release of Rs 1500 crore. However, the Centre finally agreed to offer Rs 791 crore to the state.
Chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier written a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh. State’s Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao met Singh in Delhi on Wednesday to demand the relief fund. Both these seem to have worked for this generosity from the Centre. Such a huge amount was not even granted to undivided Andhra Pradesh.
A total of 10 states, including Telangana, had in 2015 declared drought in more than 280 districts altogether across the country. There was a 14 per cent deficit in the southwest monsoon last year due to the influence of the El Nino phenomenon. Rainfall deficits were experienced even as there were floods in some other parts of the country.