Patna,(BiharTimes): RJD's national vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Monday said Bihar could not be declared a drought-hit state because the state government did not send its report to the Centre.

According to him 50 districts of Uttar Pradesh were recently declared drought-hit while Karnataka was provided an assistance of Rs 1,500 crore from the Centre because these two states submitted their memoranda to the Centre on time.

“When I inquired in the Union government, I was told Bihar didn't send its report,” Raghuvansh Singh was quoted in the Times of India.

He claimed state’s principal secretary (agriculture) Sudhir Kumar later told him such reports were prepared by the disaster management department. The disaster management principal secretary Vyasji told him the state government did not send any report to the Centre because Bihar had just 37% rain deficit this year.

On his part Raghuvansh said that it did not rain in the entire state since Hathiya Nakshatra and farmers are facing the heat of one of the worst droughts.

“But the Bihar government’s secretary says there was just 37% rain deficit. You go and ask farmers in the countryside,” the former Union rural development minister told the daily.