Rs 60,000-crore plan on the anvil to tackle drought permanently: Sharad Pawar

Expressing the need to get rid of drought permanently, Union minister of agriculture Sharad Pawar said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is contemplating a Rs60,000 crore plan to tackle drought in Maharashtra.

Pawar added that the state and Centre will be baring 50 per cent cost each to carry out the drought-related works worth Rs20,000 crore every year. The work needs to be undertaken each year for a period of three years.

“The state government has been asked to prepare a proposal in this regard and the Centre will give its nod to it. Thereafter, the project will be implemented for the next three years as a permanent solution to the drought,” he said.

Pawar was speaking at a function in Purandar taluka after inaugurating a Cement Check dam. The state government has built 80 such check dams in the drought-prone taluka of Purandar.

Lauding the efforts of the state government in mitigating drought, Pawar said that the Centre has provided more than Rs2,200 crore to Maharashtra this year to combat drought.

‘98% rainfall expected’
Pawar said that the state will receive favourable monsoon this year. “As per the reports available with me, there will be 98 per cent rains this year,” he said.

No reshuffle among Cong ministers
Meanwhile, CM Prithviraj Chavan said that there will be no changes or reshuffle among the Congress ministers in the cabinet. Chavan was speaking after inauguration a cement check dam at Gondavale in Satara district.