No truth in Punjab’s charge on drought package: Ramesh

Punjab received bulk rains in August and from June 1 to September 26. It had received 266 mm of rainfall as against normal of 488.2 mm — a deficiency of 46 per cent,according to Chandigarh’s Meteorological Department.

Speaking at a pubic meeting in Bathinda earlier this week,Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had alleged the “deliberate” denial of drought package to Punjab was a testimony towards Centre’s step-motherly treatment to the state,adding other states like Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan,Maharashtra and Odisha had been allowed this package. “Punjab has been deliberately kept out on the pretext that the state government had not requested the Centre to send a special team to assess the damage,” Badal had said.

Badal had also said that Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar,accompanied by Jairam Ramesh,had recently held detailed parleys with the senior officers of the Punjab government here over the deficient rains issue. The state has demanded a special financial package of Rs 5,112 crore to bail out the beleaguered farmers as well as the government for incurring extra expenditure to save paddy “in the wake of drought like conditions across the state”.