226 blocks in 22 districts declared drought hit in Jharkhand 

Government to spend Rs 1200 crore as drought relief fund

Ranchi, October 29: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren after a review meeting on Saturday evening declared 226 blocks in 22 districts (out of 24 districts) as drought-affected.

The review meeting of state disaster management authority chaired by Hemant Soren  took the decision after discussing the drought assessment report prepared by agriculture department of the state at Ranchi.

“After going through the drought assessment report of agriculture department, the state has announced a big relief to the affected farmer families of 226 blocks of 22 identified districts (except East Singhbhum and Simdega) of the state. As an immediate relief Rs 3500 would be given to the farmer families residing in the drought hit blocks. This amount will be made available soon to all the affected farmer families,” said a release issued by chief minister’s secretariat.

“It is the moral responsibility of the state government to provide immediate drought relief to the affected farmer families. More than 30 lakh farmer families of the state in the grip of drought would get benefit of this announcement. The state government will spend about Rs 1200 crore in providing drought relief funds,” said Hemant Soren.

The chief minister also directed the officers preparing a consolidated report based on the assessment of the drought situation in the state at the earliest so a recommendation can be sent to the Central government seeking drought relief  package.

The list of blocks and the districts in the Kolhan region declared drought hit are as follows:-

Seraikela, Kharsawan, Kuchai, Chandil, Ichagarh, Kukdu, Rajnagar, Gamharia (all in Seraikela-Kharsawan district), Jhinkpani, Tonto, Jagannathpur, Noamundi, Majhgaon, Kumardungi, Manjhari, Kumardungi, Chakradharpur, Sonua, Goilkela, Manoharpur, Bandgaon, Hatgamharia, Gudri, Chaibasa, Khuntpani and Anandpur (all in West Singhbhum).

The meeting was attended by state disaster management minister Banna Gupta, agriculture minister Badal Patralekh, chief secretary, Sukhdev Singh, development commissioner Arun Kumar and senior bureaucrats from finance, food, public distribution and consumer affairs, disaster management, agriculture, water resources, secretary school education and literacy department, director agriculture and director social welfare department.