While Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has summoned the Chief Ministers of all the drought affected states for a meeting on August 17, to evolve solutions take emergency steps to tide over the situation, the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is scheduled to meet all the Food and Civil Supplies Ministers of the drought affected States on August 19, to discuss streamlining of the food grain distribution under the Public Distribution System. This will be followed by another meeting with the Agriculture Ministers of the states to review drought situation across the country.

Even as states, which are considered as country’s food basket like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur and parts of Orissa are in the throes of drought, Indian Meteorological Department on Friday declared 29 per cent shortage of rainfall.

The drought is cutting agricultural production in the country, which has a population of 1.2 billion and where more than half the arable land is not irrigated. According to tentative estimates, compared to last year, failure of monsoon is likely to take a toll on foodgrain production with 10 per cent cut in paddy production and over 5 per cent in pulses and oil seeds.

In the face of potential damage that the current bleak drought condition could cause to the economic measures of the government, the Prime Minister will discuss the steps that would have to be taken up by the governments of the drought affected states to prevent an agrarian crisis in the country. The states concerned are also likely to be asked to take up stringent measures against hoarding of foodgrain and black marketing.

In his address to the nation on the occasion of Independence Day celebration on Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had assured assistance to farmers hit by drought and expressed confidence of dealing with the situation effectively.

He also assured that all efforts would be made to control rising prices of food grains, pulses and other goods of daily use.

To tackle the drought situation, the government of India had already constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers to assess and monitor the situation arising out of drought.

To be headed by the Finance Minister, the Empowered Group of Ministers would also take decisions and approve new and innovative schemes, besides examining the existing schemes for suitable modification.