The truant southwest monsoon has finally got the government worried as Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that rainfall situation in Karnataka and central Maharashtra is worrisome.

Earlier in July 4, Pawar had admitted that the delay in the monsoon has already affected sowing of important Kharif crops in many parts of the country, adding that all hopes are now pinned on revival of the monsoon.

“By and large, the situation may not be fully satisfactory but it is not bad either. There is ample opportunity to cover the delay,” Pawar had said, adding that the agriculture ministry was in touch with states, which have already prepared contingency plans.

It may be noted here that the states have been asked to ensure availability of seeds of alternative crops and varieties and be ready to implement these plans in the event of further delay in the monsoon rains.

Till now, the rainfall deficiency is 31 per cent though the weather department says the monsoon is expected to advance and rainfall is expected to be better from next week onwards.

Sowing has been affected in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The widespread deficiency in rains in western and central India has affected coarse cereals such as maize, bajra and jowar. However, the overall situation of rice is not worrisome.

Besides, a shortfall of 0.32 million hectares has been reported in groundnut due to less sowing in Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The agriculture minister had stated that there was no need to worry for Punjab and Haryana since 94 per cent of the crop area is under irrigation. The sowing of Kharif crops such as paddy, pulses and oilseeds begins in April but gains momentum after the onset of monsoon in June.