Haryana has urged the Centre to give it a special package to deal with drought-like conditions in the State. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda disclosed on Wednesday that in a written communication to the Union Government the increased expenditure on electricity to irrigate the fields had also been highlighted.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary P.K. Chaudhery has constituted a Committee of Secretaries to keep a watch on the situation “arising out of deficient rainfall in the State”. The Committee, comprising administrative Secretaries of the Departments of Revenue, Cooperation, Irrigation, Agriculture, Power, Public Health, Food & Supplies, Rural Development and Animal Husbandry would meet weekly to take stock of the situation.