Chandigarh, July 29 (IANS) In view of the near drought-like situation in several parts of the country, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has urged the union government to give a special economic package to all agricultural states in the country, a state government spokesman said here Sunday.
Badal, in a statement, said that the package be given to all agricultural states and to Punjab in particular.
Punjab contributes nearly 70 percent of wheat and rice to the national kitty. The state has only 1.54 percent of the country's geographical area.
Badal pointed out that due to deficit rainfall, an emergency-like situation has been created in the food producing states of the country.
The states were not able to cope up with the demand of power for supplying it to the farmers in the ongoing paddy season, he said.
Punjab has sought a special allocation of 1,000 MW of power from the centre for the paddy season.
The state government could not take steps against such calamities on their own as the central government had centralised all powers and taxes. The states were facing a financial crisis, Badal said.
The states had been reduced to the status of beggars who were at the mercy of the union government for seeking funds to ensure development in their respective states, he added.
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