BJP holds wrong policies of previous govt reason for drought

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said that it was not responsible for the water crisis looming over Maharashtra while holding the wrong polices and lacklustre attitude of the previous regime responsible for the same.

"The BJP came into power last year and we are no responsible for the drought. Old policies are responsible for drought because of which the water level went so low, meanwhile, no check dams were constructed which could have alarmed at a time when water levels went down," BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi told ANI.

"Now, the drought has occurred in the state when there is our government at the state, so we will do all which is needed. However, it is a state issue but the Centre also is keeping a close vigil on the water crisis and will take the needful steps to combat the situation," added Lekhi.

Earlier in the day Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that the Central Government would take due cognisance of the ongoing water crisis in Maharashtra and will sanction funds accordingly.

He also requested the Opposition leaders not to politicise the issue."Natural phenomena like drought are not in our control. We wish that it rains soon. Rest we will do what is necessary. The states will give a report after inspecting the problem. Then we call for a committee meeting, which will take a decision and sanction money. This is the normal procedure and has been carried out many times, we know our duties, no need to politicise such issues," said Naidu.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has improvised the natural calamity funds. Initially, the governments used to give money if the damage done was 50 percent and above, but now we release funds in damage that boundaries 33 percent. In case of loss of life, we have increased the compensation from Rs 1, 20,000 to 4,00,000," he added.

Highlighting the new insurance scheme started by the Centre Naidu said the `Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bema Yojana` is another step to provide relief to the farmers where they can insure their crops, which get destroyed by natural calamities.

"We will popularise this scheme too, the premium is low and claims are high," he added.

Nine states, including Maharashtra, are presently suffering from acute water crisis.