Cong. seeks white paper on drought relief

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 6. The leader of the Congress(I) Legislature Party (CLP), Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has come down heavily on the State Government for `its total failure' to meet the grim drought situation and demanded a white paper as to how the funds meant for drought-hit people are being handled.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Reddy charged the Government with discrimination on political lines in the allocation of funds for the crucial balance works in different districts. The Government was so bankrupt that it had no money to meet the transport expenses for distributing the rice made available by the Centre under `food for work,' he alleged.

About a dozen MLAs, including CLP deputy leaders - Mr. D. Srinivas and Mr. S. Vijayarama Raju - were present.

The CLP leader said the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, visited Delhi twice to seek Central assistance but not a rupee had been earmarked for the State till now. In comparison, the Karnataka Chief Minister secured a Central advance of Rs. 70 crores for tackling drought without much ado.

He disputed the Government's claim of having disbursed Rs. 170 crores for drought relief till now, adding that it was inclusive of Rs. 27 crores each for crop insurance and DPAP and Rs. 50 crores for Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS). The State was entitled to draw Rs. 208 crores as Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) but it availed of only Rs. 115 crores.

As against 3 lakh tonnes of rice allotted for food for work programme, the State had so far drawn 54,000 tonnes but not a tonne had been distributed till now. Creation of one man-day involved 5 kg of rice and a cash relief of Rs. 30. So far, Rs. 17.75 crore man-days had been lost due to drought, he said.

At the rate of one tonne of rice helping 200 persons, about six crore man-days can be created with the distribution of three lakh tonnes, but involved an outlay of Rs. 180 crores to be made available by the State Government.

The Government had sought about 10 lakh tonnes of rice which meant requirement of Rs. 540 crores to implement the `food for work' scheme. But it was not in a position to meet the transport charges for reaching the foodgrain to the affected people, he said.

The CLP leader said 160 farmers had committed suicide since January 1 and Anantapur district alone accounted for 30 deaths. Power shortage and drinking water scarcity were alarming. Instead of appointing all-party committee to monitor drought relief works, committees dominated by TDP were handling the same. The sarpanches and other Panchayat Raj elected representatives should be entrusted with the job, he added.

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Section  : Southern States
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