Farmers battling drought in the state can hope for a loan breather.
An 11-member central team, which is in Bihar to assess the drought situation, will participate at the State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting in Patna on Wednesday.
Senior officials of the state disaster management department said with the team fanning out to different districts to take stock of the drought condition, the farmers could see a scheduling of their agricultural loans as the members expressed desire to talk to the banks for the same.
“The members will be returning to New Delhi on Wednesday. The team headed by Ashish Bhutani, joint secretary with the department of agriculture and cooperation, has been split into three groups for their state-wide tour. The department has given them a presentation about the drought scene in Bihar before they left for the districts. In addition, the district magistrates concerned have also been directed to explain them the condition with the help of a proper presentation,” Vyasji, the principal secretary of the department, said.
In September, the state had declared drought in 33 of its 38 districts after a rainfall deficit of 37 per cent was recorded.
A relief package of Rs 12,500 crore has been sought from the Centre to tackle the situation.
“The meeting of the SLBC had been scheduled earlier which the committee agreed to attend. The members are expected to discuss about the pending agricultural loan of the farmers. Discussions regarding rescheduling of the loans will be done between the SLBC and the central team. The state government will also discuss the matter with the banks,” he said.
The official said drought always creates a long-term impact.
“Its impact will be felt with the water table going down and a lot of standing crops have withered due to the same. In July, the state witnessed a 35 per cent deficit rainfall while in August, the rainfall deficit was 27 per cent. The state is facing its third drought over a four-year period. It has been a string of natural calamities starting in 2007 when more than 2.5 crore people were affected by heavy floods in 22 districts,” Vyasji said.
“The Kosi disaster struck in 2008 and 2009 saw severe drought in 29 districts. In 2010, a cyclonic storm killed at least 100 people and caused heavy devastation of property. The same year saw a drought affecting all he 38 districts. The next year (2012) saw a bad monsoon and it is again drought this year. The state has demanded funds from the Centre every time but the amount sent has been very meagre,” he added.
