Centre to audit states’ spend to give drought aid

Even as the country stares at a searing summer and a drought scare looms large in many states, the Centre has decided to disburse drought relief funds to the affected states only after a stock taking of how much money allocated to individual states in the last fiscal has been spent so far.

A top official of the ministry of agriculture told this newspaper that Central teams have been sent to all drought prone states and they are likely to submit reports by the 15th of this month.

“A decision on how much amount will be dispersed will be taken only after it is analysed as to how much the states have spent out of the funds allocated to them last fiscal,” he said.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had in its February forecast said temperatures in most parts of the country from March to May would be above normal. At least 16 states are likely to experience the heat wave and among them five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra

Central teams have been sent to all drought-prone states to study the situation

Pradesh, Telengana and Kerala will be badly affected.

Incidentally, the Centre has already dispersed drought relief funds to the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. While `1,712.10 crore was given to Tamil Nadu for drought and cyclone relief from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), Karnataka got `1,235.52 crore for drought relief.

Farmers from Tamil Nadu had been protesting for nearly 20 days in Delhi, demanding a drought relief package of `40,000 crore from the Centre, farm loan waiver and setting up of Cauvery Management Board.

The funds were dispersed following the receipt of a detailed memoranda from these states, and inter-ministerial Central teams were deputed to visit the drought affected areas for the spot assessment of the calamity.

For the year 2016-17, a sum of `6.08 lakh crore has been released to all states as devolution of Central taxes.