We can’t force Haryana, Gujarat to declare drought, Centre tells SC

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, April 12 

The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it had no power to ask Haryana or any other state to declare drought in the light of scanty rainfall as the federal structure had no provision for such a move. 

Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha told a Bench comprising Justices MB Lokur and NV Ramana that the states were administered by elected governments which were expected to function in the interest of people. 

The maximum that the Centre could do was to advice the states concerned to review their decision against declaring drought in the light of the central drought manual, he said. 

At this, the Bench asked him if the Centre could advise Haryana, Bihar and Gujarat governments to declare drought in their states at least in affected districts. The ASG said the Centre was in regular touch with all the states by holding periodic meetings and other means to ensure that the affected people got financial and other help. 

Nevertheless, the apex court could ask the states concerned to declare drought on the basis of rainfall and other data provided to it in the course of hearing a PIL by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan, he said. 

The Bench had questioned Haryana, Gujarat and Bihar at the last hearing for their refusal to declare drought despite deficient rainfall, a primary indicator for the purpose under the Centre’s manual and guidelines meant for providing adequate and timely relief to the affected people, particularly the poor. 

“The case is about people’s lives, not about any picnic in Haryana,” a Bench comprising Justices MB Lokur and NV Ramana told the state counsel after noticing that the government had taken the issue casually and not even bothered to file its affidavit in response to the court notice on a PIL. 

On Tuesday, Haryana offered to file a fresh affidavit on the issue, but the Bench said it was not ready to accept it at this stage of hearing. The state had failed to take the issue seriously, it remarked. 

Haryana had maintained it was not declaring drought as there was no fall in its foodgrains production. Farmers mainly depended on river waters supplied through canals and tubewells, it said. 

Similar reasons had been advanced by Bihar and Gujarat, prompting the Bench to wonder why the Centre had come out with the drought manual if states were not to follow it.  

According to the petitioner, the other nine states facing drought are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.