New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday reviewed the drought preparedness of Tamil Nadu amid deficient southwest monsoon rainfall in at least ten districts of the state.
The review meeting held in Chennai was co-chaired by Joint Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry Ashish Kumar Srivatsava and Tamil Nadu Agriculture Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner C Samayamoorthy, according to an official statement. However, Tamil Nadu Disaster Risk Reduction Agency Director Raman said, "Though it is too early to predict drought, the state is closely watching the status of indicators as per the Manual for Drought Management".
The meeting deliberated on the status of the state government's preparedness for drought situations if monsoon fails, and coordination among different agencies. Agriculture Commissioner L Subramanian shared rainfall distribution, water storage in all reservoirs, crop coverage, steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to mitigate drought and the status of preparation of the contingency plan.
"It was informed that the South West monsoon is deficient in 10 districts," the statement added. In the meeting, the state government informed that it has already held two preliminary meetings for drafting the drought mitigation plan, and accordingly, 23 sensitive districts vulnerable to drought have been identified with 116 blocks.
It was also informed that 'Drought Monitoring' cells have been formed at the state and district level. The Joint Secretary directed the state government officials to put in place a specific monitoring mechanism at state and district levels, particularly in the sensitive districts. He cautioned the state officials to be on their toes to tackle the drought situation, if it arises, and also to implement centrally sponsored schemes at the earliest.
Though the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted normal rainfall during the South West monsoon for the current year, the Union Agriculture Ministry has taken an initiative to check the preparedness of states through all its senior officials, he said. He expressed his satisfaction about the state's preparedness for drought.
The Joint Secretary also advised that all Centrally Sponsored Schemes should be implemented in time and appreciated the state government for being the first in the country in the preparation of the consolidated Annual Action Plan well in advance and getting the funds released for the year 2023-24 and also the launching of a new portal called Tamil Mann Valam for the welfare of the farming community. (PTI)
