RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government on Tuesday declared 21 of its 27 districts drought-hit and identified 93 tehsils affected by deficient rainfall, at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raman Singh in the state secretariat. To tide over the crisis, the government plans to write to the Centre to provide each family with 200 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), instead of the 100 days that is normally ensured.
The decision was taken following the review of assessment reports submitted by district collectors. There are 150 tehsils in the state.
The Chhattisgarh government has decided to immediately begin employment-oriented relief works and to supply uninterrupted power supply for irrigation pumps to make use of available water for agriculture.
Apart from the request to the government to increase the number of days that families can get guaranteed work under NREGA, the Chhattisgarh government claims it is trying to ensure that every household has adequate stores of rice in every gram panchayat.
The state also plans to get farmers covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana insurance scheme to help them make good their losses. It also plans to get them exempted from paying revenue taxes on farm land.
The Chhattisgarh government will also send a proposal to the union government on resolving the water crisis, and seek diesel and seed subsidy for the affected regions in the state.
The number of tehsils declared drought-hit are four in Raipur, three in Gariyaband, six in Balodabazar, five in Mahasamund, four in Dhamtari, three in Durg, four in Balod, five in Bemetra, nine in Rajnandgaon, four in Kawardha, four in Kondagaon, two in Narayanpur, seven in Kanker, five in Dantewada, four in Bijapur, eight in Bilaspur, three in Mungeli, six in Raigarh, four in Janjgir-Champa, one in Korba and five in Koriya district.