To help the people hit by the unprecedented drought in the state central ministers from Gujarat met home Minister L K Advani and Finance minister Yashwant Sinha. They demanded Rs 922 crore to provide succour to the people hit by the drought in the state. Of the Rs 922 crore demanded by them for relief, Rs 375 crore would be utilised for employment generation.

Minister of state for heavy industries Vallabhbhai Kathiria said that he expected immediate release of about Rs 200 crore in two installments to the state as advance from National Calamity Relief Fund.

Stressing that drought situation was already grave in the state Mr Katharia said the state had started implementing the scheme of constructing 6,000 check dams, costing Rs 200 crore to store rainwater to improve the water table levels.

With the construction of the dams the state will be able to ward of perennial water scarcity situation particularly in arid Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat.

In Gandhinagar, the state cabinet reviewed the relief measures to meet the drought situation in parts of the state and decided to step up the relief work on a war footing in the affected parts.

The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, also decided to allot every drought hit districts to ministers to personally oversee the relief work for three days.

Giving details of the drought relief work undertaken in the affected areas, Mr Patel and finance minister Vajubhai Vala said that a "human approach" would be adopted for the relief works, which would include employment, drinking water, fodder availability and alternate arrangements for drinking water.

Mr Vala said the Central government has allocated a sum of Rs 161 crore from the National Calamity Fund last year and it had been increased to Rs 241 crore, whereas the state government has already allocated a sum of Rs 287 crore for relief works in 9421 villages and 79 cities of 153 talukas in 17 districts after declaring scarcity and semi scarcity.

Till now, 4.65 lakh people had been engaged in 2766 relief works undertaken in the drought hit areas of the state and the sum of Rs 1.15 crores and cash dole of Rs four had been distributed so far.

Atal Behari Vajpayee has announced Central aid of Rs 10 crore to provide nutritious food for labourers, women and children affected by the drought in Gujarat from the Prime Ministers Relief Fund.