Comments
The Standing Committee of Parliament on Agriculture has decided to take stock of the drought situation.
The panel, headed by the CPI(M) leader, Mr Basudeb Acharia, will meet on next Friday to hear reports from various Ministries and Departments on the issue.
The committee has issued directives to the Agriculture, Food, Railways and Water Resources Ministries to appear before the panel next Friday with the details of the actions initiated to tackle the problem.
At a meeting here today, the committee expressed concern at the situation and wanted to take a “serious look” at the issue. “Members said that since the rain deficit is very high, the preparedness of the Government to face the situation should be reviewed,” Mr Acharia said.
He said the committee will table a report on the issue in the Monsoon Session.
“We understand the seriousness of the situation and want the Government to act swiftly,” Mr Acharia added. He said the panel may visit some drought-hit regions.
“Such decisions will be taken in the next meeting of the panel,” he added.
Mr Acharia said unlike the drought situation in 2010, this year it is a nationwide problem. “Except in North-Eastern regions and North Bengal, almost the entire country is affected by drought. The situation in 2012 is much more serious than that of 2010,” Mr Acharia added.
‘lack of preparation’
The Opposition parties had criticised the Centre for the alleged “lack of preparation” to face the drought situation.
Former Agriculture Minister Mr Rajnath Singh had demanded that the Centre provide free power to farmers. Maharashtra and Karnataka have demanded financial assistance from the Centre.
The 31-member panel had submitted a report in 2010 suggesting a number of measures to face the drought-like situations. It is learnt that members are unhappy with the way the Government had treated that report.
“The Committee has a perception that the Government machinery, as of now is only inadequately prepared to meet the situation, where the climate change can operate like terrorists, whose entry points or modus operandi are difficult to guess,” the committee had noted in an earlier report.
jigeesh.am@thehindu.co.in
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.