Gandhinagar, Sep 11 — The Gujarat government said on Friday that it would not declare drought in districts solely on the basis of rainfall deficiency, stressing that a scientific assessment of crop conditions and ground verification would be required before taking such a decision.

Responding to a notice under Rule 116 of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Rules seeking the attention of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over the possibility of drought in districts that have received scanty rainfall, the government said the state had received 75.43 per cent of its seasonal average rainfall as of September 3.

The notice was given by Congress Legislative Party leader Dr Tushar Chaudhary along with members Amit Chavda, Dr Kirit Patel and Vimal Chudasama.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel responded on behalf of the Revenue Department, which is headed by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

In the statement read by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, CM Patel said Gujarat had received 685.53 mm of rainfall against the seasonal average. "While South Gujarat had received 103.91 per cent of its average rainfall, rainfall remained uneven in parts of Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat," he said.

Devbhumi Dwarka had recorded 6.41 per cent of the average rainfall, followed by Porbandar at 18.12 per cent, Jamnagar at 28.88 per cent and Kutch at 29.29 per cent.

He said the agricultural situation had not warranted an immediate drought declaration. "As of August 31, sowing had been completed on 80.39 lakh hectares, or 94.24 per cent of the state's normal sown area of 85.30 lakh hectares," he noted.

Sowing of several major crops had exceeded their normal levels, with groundnut at 107.99 per cent, pulses at 107.17 per cent, soybean at 108.04 per cent and paddy at 101.45 per cent, while cotton sowing stood at 90.07 per cent.

The government also said water availability and supply arrangements are being monitored. The Sardar Sarovar Dam had 88.60 per cent of its storage capacity filled, while the state's other 206 reservoirs had 66.07 per cent water storage.

Of these, 36 dams were on high alert. Under water planning, 2.0 MAF from the Narmada basin had been reserved for drinking water, while arrangements had been made to provide irrigation for Kharif crops over 17.38 lakh hectares in the Narmada command area.

Drinking and irrigation water was also being supplied through the Sauni and Sujalam Sufalam schemes in Saurashtra and North Gujarat.

To protect standing crops, agricultural power supply had been increased from eight hours to 10 hours in 132 taluka-groups across 21 districts, including Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Mehsana, Botad and Sabarkantha.

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) had also made arrangements for additional short-term power purchases for September and October to meet demand.

The government said it had begun fodder-related preparations in July, authorising District Collectors to distribute fodder at subsidised rates based on local conditions.

A stock of 402.54 lakh kg of fodder is currently available. "31 lakh kg of fodder had already been distributed at subsidised rates to 51,802 livestock owners for 1,31,505 animals across 572 villages in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Surendranagar and Porbandar districts," he said.

On the demand for declaring drought-affected districts, the government cited the Centre's Drought Management Manual-2016 (Updated 2020), saying drought could not be declared solely on the basis of uneven rainfall or rainfall deviation.

"Indicators including rainfall, crop sowing, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), soil moisture and groundwater levels have to be assessed under Trigger-1 and Trigger-2," he said.

In affected villages, 10 per cent physical verification through GPS or smartphone applications is required before harvesting, by the end of the Kharif season and by October 31. The extent of crop damage is then considered in deciding whether a drought should be declared.

The government said that under the Centre's Manual for Drought Management, 2016, the decision would therefore be taken after scientific assessment and ground verification.

"Rainfall, water, electricity and fodder conditions were being monitored daily in Cabinet meetings and meetings of the Committee of Secretaries chaired by the Chief Secretary," he said.

The government said measures normally associated with drought relief, including subsidised fodder distribution, adequate drinking and irrigation water and sufficient electricity supply, were already being addressed in advance.

"We remained committed to taking a decision in the interest of the people according to the prevailing situation," officials said.

The Congress party and AAP have demanded that rain-deficient areas of Gujarat be officially declared drought-hit, arguing that such a step was necessary to ensure timely relief to farmers and rural communities affected by inadequate rainfall.

The demand came amid concerns over the sharp rainfall deficit in parts of Saurashtra and Kutch, with Congress calling for an assessment of affected areas and immediate government intervention.

Separately, Congress MLAs have also staged protests at the Gujarat Assembly over other issues during the ongoing session, including the Bhavnagar hooch tragedy.

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