By IANS,
New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday to demand setting up of a national fund for mitigation of drought to provide faster assistance to states affected by the natural calamity.
Sources said the chief minister met the prime minister along with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
They said Maharashtra was seeking creation of this national fund as the guidelines under the National Disaster Response Fund did not provide for expeditious flow of funds in calamities like drought which occurred over a period of time.
They said a follow-up meeting is expected between different government agencies over the next few days to work out modalities of the drought relief fund.
Maharashtra is facing drought in some parts of the state and the state has sought central assistance to provide relief to affected people.