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Chief Secretary S.P. A review meeting was held with all the Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates of the state through video conferencing on Thursday under the chairmanship of Goyal. In the meeting, a detailed review of the availability and distribution of fertilizers in Kharif season, wetland notification, Ramsar sites and flood situation in the state and relief-rescue operations was done. The Chief Secretary gave clear instructions to the officers that there should be no negligence at any level in providing fertilizers to the farmers and top priority should be given to relief and rescue operations in flood affected areas.

Instructions to provide adequate fertilizer at committees and distribution centers

Reviewing the availability and distribution of fertilizers in the Kharif season, the Chief Secretary said that sufficient quantity of fertilizers should be available at all the committees and distribution centres. Necessary supply should be ensured by special monitoring of the committees in which the stock of fertilizer is zero or very less.

He directed that in every district, an officer not below the level of Additional District Magistrate or Chief Development Officer should be designated as Nodal Officer. To ensure that farmers in flood affected areas do not face problems in getting fertilizers, if necessary, alternative arrangements should be made to link them to the nearest committee.

The Chief Secretary instructed the Chief Development Officers to review the availability and distribution of fertilizers on a daily basis and the District Magistrates on a weekly level. He warned the officials that under no circumstances should any complaint be received regarding charging higher price of fertilizer or selling it unauthorizedly by combining it with any other item.

Instructions to send wetland proposal soon

The progress in notifying wetlands was also reviewed in the meeting. It was told that no proposal has been received yet from Jhansi, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Gonda and Ballia. On this, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned District Magistrates to organize a meeting of the District Level Wetland Committee immediately and send the proposal to the department by the end of this month.

He also asked to send proposals of eligible places for Ramsar sites soon. It was informed in the meeting that till now a total of 101 wetlands have been notified in 26 districts of the state, while 53 new proposals have been received from 45 districts.

13 Ramsar sites notified in the state

Information about notified Ramsar sites in the state was also given in the meeting. So far 13 Ramsar sites have been notified in the state. These include Upper Ganga River of Bulandshahr, Sarsai Nawar Lake of Etawah, Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary of Unnao, Sandi Bird Sanctuary of Hardoi, Samaspur Bird Sanctuary of Rae Bareli, Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary of Gonda, Samaan Bird Sanctuary of Mainpuri, Surasarovar Bird Sanctuary of Agra, Haiderpur Wetland of Muzaffarnagar, Bakhira Bird Sanctuary of Sant Kabirnagar, Etah. Patna Bird Sanctuary, Shekha Lake of Aligarh and Surhatal of Ballia are included.

Apart from this, proposals for eight other Ramsar sites have been sent to the Government of India. The Chief Secretary directed the concerned officers to expedite the process of proposals for eligible sites.

Instructions for daily monitoring in flood affected areas

The Chief Secretary also reviewed the situation in the flood affected areas of the state. He directed the District Magistrates to monitor the flood situation daily and maintain constant vigil in the affected areas. The administration was instructed to remain fully alert and not to show laxity at any level in relief and rescue operations.

He said that timely medical facilities, food items and other necessary relief materials should be provided to the flood affected people. Administrative and relief teams should remain active in the affected areas and immediate assistance should be provided as per requirement.

The Chief Secretary said that in case of flood, promptness and sensitivity of the administration is most important. To ensure that the affected people do not face any kind of problem, the District Magistrate himself should regularly review the relief and rescue operations.

Principal Secretary Agriculture Ravindra, Principal Secretary Revenue Aparna U., Principal Secretary Forest V. Hekali Jhimomi, Principal Secretary Cooperative Ajay Kumar Shukla and other senior officers were present in the meeting.