Central team completes assessment of drought in AP: Agri Min

An inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) has visited Andhra Pradesh and completed the assessment of the extent of damage in the drought-hit districts, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said Tuesday.

The state has declared drought in nine districts covering 347 mandals during kharif 2018 and has submitted a memorandum seeking assistance of Rs 1,401.54 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), he said.

"IMCT has visited the state during December 5-9," Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

As per the existing procedure, the recommendations of IMCT are placed before the sub-committee of National Executive Committee and then considered by the High Level Committee headed by the home minister, he added.

About 13.61 lakh hectare has been affected by drought in the state, which has submitted total three memorandums to the Centre, seeking relief funds.

During 2017-18, the Centre had sanctioned Rs 113.14 crore assistance from the NDRF for five affected districts of Andhra Pradesh, while Rs 518.93 crore was approved during 2016-17 for seven districts.

Andhra Pradesh is among the six states that has suffered drought during kharif 2018. The other states include Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Odisha has also declared drought in Kharif 2018 but the state has not submitted any memorandum so far, the minister added.