Click to play videoNew Delhi: Poor monsoon and the prospects of drought has become a major concern for the government. By Tuesday 161 districts in the country have been officially declared to drought-hit.
The Supreme Court has also stepped in, asking an expert panel to prepare an action plan for drought.
The apex court wants the Ramaswamy panel to prepare an action plan for drought. The panel had earlier done a study on making sea water portable.
"Monsoon failure is a major problem. Do you have any solution to the problem? Dals have become Rs 90 a kg. This is a huge problem for the common man," observes the two-member Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice Markandeya Katju and AK Ganguly.
Alarm bells are also ringing in the corridors of power. The dry spell has not been experienced for 22 years.
Rice, the main kharif crop is set to fall by 20 per cent. The Union Government, facing the heat, admitted that the situation was very critical.
"About 161 districts have already been declared drought-prone. This country has the experience and capability of handling the situation and I will advise not to press the panic button," says Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The Centre has already said it is looking beyond the failed kharif crop. There are immediate concerns about dealing with the rising prices of sugar and pulses but as the Finance Ministry pointed out difficult times are yet to come.
The Ministry says: "Inflation may rise later this year. It is difficult to ascertain at this stage whether the borrowing or the fiscal gap would push up because of drought but the government definitely is expecting additional tax revenue to tackle the drought."
That is not all. Having come under tremendous pressure from Opposition in Parliament, the United Progressive Alliance Government wants to keep all chief ministers informed.
So, the Prime Minister has convened a meeting of chief ministers on August 17.
But the states are already complaining about the Centre's drought of ideas.
(With inputs from Ashok Bagariya and Neelu Vyas)
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