Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

NIRD study picks holes in State's relief works

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD April 10. In a major development that could embarrass the State Government, a study conducted by the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) has pointed out that the administrative machinery in various drought-affected districts is subject to enormous political pressure in deciding the priority of relief works.

The study - Rapid Interactive Study of 2002 Drought - conducted in 12 states by the NIRD's Centre for Disaster Management and Rural Reconstruction says that while the Government wants to get the works done by labour, political leaders/contractors were getting the works done through machinery.

The NIRD commissioned the study with the objectives of assessing the present drought situation, effectiveness and adequacy of relief operations currently in progress in different states and preparedness of the states to cope with the coming summer months. It was conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the study, though the drought situation is really bad in Andhra Pradesh, it was exaggerated to a great extent and the district administration is under pressure from the political leaders in this regard. "The administration is also pressurised to carry out the relief works through contractors against the guidelines,'' a draft report of the study, the copies of which were released to press on Thursday, said.

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