Telangana Assembly Passes Resolution Seeking ₹20,000 Crore El Nino Relief Package
Telangana Assembly adopts a resolution seeking a ₹20,000 crore Central relief package, a national calamity declaration for El Nino-driven drought and a higher FRBM borrowing limit.
The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to sanction a ₹20,000 crore special relief package to help the State cope with the fallout of an El Nino-influenced monsoon. The resolution, moved by Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka at the end of a brief discussion on the situation, also pressed for a higher borrowing ceiling under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
The House asked the Centre to formally recognise the drought conditions caused by El Nino as a national calamity and to extend the financial support needed for relief operations. It sought an early visit by a Central team to assess the impact on the ground.
Among the specific demands were the release of funds from the National Calamity Fund, compensation for crop losses along with input subsidy, and money for drinking water supply and fodder for cattle and other livestock. The State also urged the Centre to bear the full cost of wage employment under the VB G-RAM-G scheme by raising the maximum number of guaranteed workdays from 125 to 175 and increasing the labour component of the programme. Funds for horticulture and vegetable cultivation were sought as well.
On the energy front, the resolution requested an additional five million tonnes of coal for thermal power generation, extra railway rakes to move coal to generating stations on time, relief from power transmission charges and additional assistance under centrally sponsored schemes.
To finance relief measures more effectively, the State asked that its FRBM borrowing limit be raised from 3% of Gross State Domestic Product to 3.5%.
Explaining the rationale, the Deputy Chief Minister said the State had recorded an average rainfall deficit of 20% between June 1 and September 16, and the shortfall was expected to widen. Nineteen of the State's 33 districts had already registered deficient rainfall. Kharif crop coverage stood at only 88% of the normal 139.29 lakh acres, while live storage in major reservoirs of the Krishna and Godavari basins was just 241 tmc ft as on September 16.
He noted that the available water was insufficient for the Yasangi crop, minor irrigation tanks and ponds held poor stocks, and the groundwater table was falling steadily as dependence on it grew for both irrigation and drinking needs.