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National resource policy must to tackle droughts, floods: Ajit

Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh said on Saturday a national resource policy should be formulated to tackle situations like drought and flood.

Such a policy would help distribution of resources like water from states where it is abundant to others where it is scarce, Singh told reporters.

"A national resource policy is the need of the hour and it alone can resolve the perennial problems like flood and drought", he said.

The policy would also end once and for all the strife over water among several states, he said.

Regarding the current drought, he said poor monsoon has affected states in the north, west and parts of the south.

The government, he said, would soon work out a relief package for the affected people including farmers after assessing crop damage.

Singh, however, said the drought had not led to a famine-like situation.

There was enough food grain stocks to take care of such an eventuality, he said.

A food for work programme would be put in place in all the drought affected states.

The government would also provide financial assistance to the farmers on the basis of crop-loss besides seeking a waiver of interest from financial institutions such as NABARD on loans taken by farmers.

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