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Plan to combat drought inadequate: Jakhar

Warning of a ''mass rural unrest'', former Agriculture Minister Balram Jakhar has strongly urged the Centre to declare the drought situation in the country as a national calamity and combat the crisis at the earliest.

''The likelihood of a mass rural unrest exists and I had communicated this to the Centre. I urge the government to pay due attention and work out a permanent solution to drought rather than dealing with it in terms of relief packages after the calamity has struck,'' Dr Jakhar told UNI in New Delhi.

The former minister called as ''highly unjustified and anti-people'' the Centre's rejection of the opposition's demand for centralised management of droughts and floods.

''How could the Centre pass on the buck by saying it was the responsibility of states to handle the situation? It is a poor reflection on how concerned the Centre is about the condition of the farmers,'' he added.

Dr Jakhar said farmers have been badly hit by the drought and incidence of suicide and violence may increase. ''The life and property of the well-offs could be at risk. The the situation is very very tense,'' he cautioned.

''Even the measures announced by Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh to tackle the situation is too little and too late,'' Dr Jakhar said adding that the seven-point program and the funds pledged by the ministry to the states were not enough to resolve the crisis.

Dr Jakhar wondered why the NDA government took so long to declare drought in the affected areas. ''The drought situation this year is even worse than 1987, as almost 60 per cent of the land area is affected,'' he added.

The former minister said there would not be an immediate food crisis as the Food Corporation of India's godowns are overflowing with surplus foodgrains. ''The real challenge, as admitted by Ajit Singh, is to see that delivery system works, prices are stable and additional employment is not only generated but it also sustains the purchasing power of the poor,'' he added.

Dr Jakhar pointed out that the drought assessment process had been crop-oriented and the issues of immediate concern like the availability of drinking water have not even been considered as part of drought planning. ''No definite plan has been spelt out by the NDA government on how to tackle the acute shortage of water in many parts of the country,'' he remarked.

The former Speaker said agriculturists and peasants in the country were always the worst hit by any natural calamity. ''It is better for the Parliamentarians and those at the helm of affairs to look into the problems in depth or be prepared for an upheaval,'' he warned.

Dr Jakhar blamed the Centre for reversing the Agricultural policy initiated by him during P V Narasimha Rao's regime (1991-96). ''The NDA government has done nothing for the farmers,'' he lamented.

The former minister said benefits of the relief package would not go to the needy as there was rampant corruption in the administration and it was overlooked by the NDA government.

''While funds have been promised by the Centre, it remains to be seen as to how much of it will finally reach the affected people.

The drought of 2000 in Orissa saw announcement of elaborate relief measures, but in actuality, not even essential foodgrains were released to the starving population,'' he noted.

The former minister also blamed the country's meteorological department for its failure to warn the government of the late and inadequate rainfall this year and demanded that the technology used by the department be upgraded for correct and timely predictions.

He said that the government overlooked the warning of unprecedented drought by the meteoroligical department in the United States.

Dr Jakhar said only relief funds could not help combat the situation and demanded that special funds be released by the Centre.

The former minister warned the NDA government not to discriminate against the Congress ruled states in announcing the relief funds.

He cited the example of Israel, which managed to combat successfully its the acute water shortage by highly scientific water storage policy. ''I had called a team from Israel in 1993 and implemented drip irrrigation,'' he added.

UNI

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