Jaipur, Oct 4 (PTI) Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday asked the state government to prepare a contingency plan to deal with the “drought-like” situation in parts of the state, warning that drinking water, fodder and employment could emerge as major concerns in the coming months.
Talking to reporters here, the veteran Congress leader said the government should take the situation very seriously and begin preparations immediately.
“Arrangements will have to be made for fodder and drinking water, both for people and animals. A contingency plan should be prepared from now itself,” he said.
The former chief minister had claimed on Saturday that drought-like conditions prevailed in around 2,000 villages in Jodhpur, 2,460 villages in Barmer, 1,216 villages in Balotra and 961 villages in Jaisalmer district, while several other parts of Marwar and the state were also affected.
Gehlot said Rajasthan has faced droughts in the past, but their impact had reduced over the years due to tubewells, handpumps and the employment guarantee programme.
He claimed that with changes in the employment guarantee system, people no longer had the same assurance of getting work on demand and said the state government would have to ensure adequate relief works in affected areas.
Referring to Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s announcement in Barmer, Gehlot alleged that even after three days, related orders had not reached the district collector.
“It should not remain only on paper. These issues have to be taken seriously if the government wants to deal with the situation effectively,” he said.
Sharma had on Wednesday announced continuation of emergency drinking water arrangements and tanker supply till December 31 in the low-rainfall areas.
He also announced the opening of fodder depots in Barmer, Balotra, Jaisalmer and other affected areas and authorised sanction of emergency works of up to Rs 1 crore through district collectors.
Gehlot demanded that farmers’ loans should be waived and recalled that the previous Congress government had waived farm loans worth about Rs 14,000 crore.
He said Congress leaders at the block, district and state levels would visit affected areas to assess whether relief works had been opened, payments were being made on time and adequate arrangements for fodder and drinking water were in place. PTI SDA DV
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