Centre Reviews Drought Preparedness Of Tamil Nadu After 10 Districts Record Deficit Rains

During the meeting, the aspects including state government's preparedness for drought situations if monsoon fails and coordination among different agencies were discussed.

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 central government team reviewed the drought preparedness of Tamil Nadu since 10 districts of the state recorded a deficit in southwest monsoon rainfall. The review meeting co-chaired by Joint Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry Ashish Kumar Srivatsava and Tamil Nadu Agriculture Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner C Samayamoorthy was conducted in Chennai. 

In an official statement, Tamil Nadu Disaster Risk Reduction Agency Director Raman, as per PTI, 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."

During the meeting, the aspects including state government's preparedness for drought situations if monsoon fails and coordination among different agencies were discussed.

Agriculture Commissioner L Subramanian shared rainfall distribution and water storage in all reservoirs. He also mentioned crop coverage, steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to mitigate drought and the status of preparation of the contingency plan.

The statement said, "It was informed that the South West monsoon is deficient in 10 districts." 

Tamil Nadu government has also informed that the state has already held two preliminary meetings for drafting the drought mitigation plan. They also informed that 23 sensitive districts vulnerable to drought have been identified. The government has also reported formed '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. The Joint Secretary said, "If drought situation arises, state officials should be on their toes to tackle the drought situation and implement centrally sponsored schemes at the earliest."

The Union Agriculture Ministry took the initiative to check preparedness even though Indian Meteorological Department predicted normal rainfall during the South West monsoon for the current year.