Pawar lauds Chavan`s handling of drought situation

Mumbai: Lauding Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday that the state government had handled the drought situation well.

"During a recent meeting with Prime Minister, Chavan made a good presentation of what the state proposes to do for drought mitigation and what it expects from the Centre. The Maharashtra chief secretary, officials from the Planning Commission, finance ministry and water resources department will prepare a proposal for central funds," Pawar said. He refuted media reports that the Centre had turned down Maharashtra`s demand for a financial package of Rs 30,000 crore. "I was present at the meeting. Nothing of this sort ever happened. The Centre provided Rs 2250 crore for drought relief this year and the state government has done good work. Cattle camps were conducted and tankers were provided in large numbers," he said. Pawar recalled that during his tenure as Maharashtra chief minister, agitations and morchas were a routine affair during times of drought. "But this time nothing of this sort has happened. Everyone co-operated taking a positive approach," he said, when asked about the state BJP`s charge that Central funds were not utilised for drought relief. PTI