The Centre on Tuesday approved a drought relief fund of Rs 5,083 crore for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, PTI reported. A panel headed by home minister Rajnath Singh approved the assistance fund in a meeting attended by agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh.

After reviewing the proposals put forth by a central team that had visited the drought-affected states, the committee allocated Rs 2,033 crore for Madhya Pradesh and Rs 3,050 crore for Maharashtra out of the National Disaster Relief Fund.

These regions experienced a 14% rain deficit during the southwest monsoon this year because of the El Nino weather phenomenon, even as other parts of the country were hit by floods.