Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today chaired a high level meeting on the drought and water scarcity situation in parts of Telangana. Chief Minister of Telangana, K. Chandrashekar Rao led a team of officers from his State.
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Radha Mohan Singh and Dr Jitendra Singh also attended the meeting. Senior officials from the Government of India and the State of Telangana were present.
Initiating the discussion, the Prime Minister said he is holding separate meetings with Chief Ministers of the drought-affected States, to assess the specific requirements of each, and to focus attention on both immediate and long term measures.
An amount of Rs. 712.62 crore has been released to the State under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after adjustments of the State balances. This is in addition to Rs 205.5 crore released as central share of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2015-16 to the State. A further amount of Rs. 108 crore has been released as first instalment of SDRF for 2016-17.
The Chief Minister apprised the Prime Minister of the progress made in Mission Kakatiya, which aims at rejuvenation of water tanks and other water storage structures in the State. The Chief Minister shared details of the State Government’s ambitious project of Mission Bhagiratha, which aims to provide safe drinking water to rural households. Several historical examples, as well as global best practices in the area of water storage and irrigation were discussed. The Prime Minister stressed on the importance of using urban waste water for irrigation in adjoining rural areas. He said that remote sensing and space technology can be used to identify blocked water channels, which can then be targeted for desiltation through public participation.
Chief Minister also spoke of the progress made in micro-irrigation, which has so far covered 40,000 hectares in the State.
In the course of the meeting, Chief Minister of Telangana thanked the Prime Minister for launching the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, which he described as a very good scheme for farmers. Shri Chandrashekar Rao also thanked the Prime Minister for the amendments to the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) Act. He suggested that the Union Government should now evolve a strategy for effective utilization of the Fund. He also shared the State Government’s major plantation drive – Haritha Haram.
The Chief Minister suggested delineation of the entire country into “crop colonies,” so that specific strategies could be evolved accordingly. The Prime Minister appreciated the suggestion, and said that soil health cards aim to achieve the same objective. He encouraged the State to come up with a model plan.
The meeting ended with a resolve on the part of the Centre and State to work together.
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