The Hindu : CM seeks release of aid, foodgrains

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

CM seeks release of aid, foodgrains

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 21. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, today sought to impress the Centre on the urgent need to release financial grant and foodgrains to the State which was facing the ``severest'' drought in the last four decades.

Nearly a month after Mr. Naidu made a similar request, the Chief Minister came back to urge the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to give the State immediately 20 lakh tonnes of rice for the next three months on par with Rajasthan.

"Rajasthan has been given 29 lakh tonnes of foodgrains (to carry out drought relief programmes). Andhra Pradesh is next to Rajasthan in being affected by drought,'' Mr. Naidu told correspondents after the meeting.

The State, he said, had so far received only 5 lakh tonnes of rice and recently the Centre indicated that Andhra Pradesh would be given 3.15 lakh tonnes for the next three months. As against this, the State had sought 21.60 lakh tonnes.

Mr. Naidu said that the Centre had convened a meeting of the Task Force which was scheduled to meet here on Sunday. He expressed the hope that the State Government's request would be given due consideration. He also told the Prime Minister that the coming three months would be severe with demands for drinking water, fodder, and employment generation schemes going up.

Referring to the recent announcement of waiver of interest on crop loans, he said the State Government had requested total waiver of interest without limiting it to 20 per cent of the interest on crop loans and reschedule the rest for five years. The State Government had disbursed Rs.1,495 crores as crop loans during 2002 kharif season.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Union Food Minister, Sharad Yadav, and the Civil Aviation Minister, Shahnawaz Hussain, Mr. Naidu and the TDP Parliamentary Party leader, K. Yerran Naidu, among others.

The Chief Minister had a meeting with the Prime Minister last month seeking assistance for drought relief.

In a separate meeting with the Petroleum Minister, Ram Naik, the Chief Minister said the proposed hike in the prices of LPG and kerosene should not be carried out.

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