Guwahati, July 15 - The Assam government has declared more than half of the state as drought-hit, saying agriculture was badly hit due to scanty monsoon rains, officials said Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi late Tuesday. After deliberating in detail, the meeting resolved to declare 14 of Assam's 27 districts drought-hit.

The relief and disaster management department has been put on an alert with officials asked to review the damage caused to agriculture due to the unusual dry climate.

'We have asked all the deputy commissioners of the 14 districts to work out an action plan for ensuring supply of drinking water, fodder, and providing irrigation facilities to the farmers,' Gogoi told IANS.

To fight the drought and minimise the woes of the farmers, the government decided on a series of measures, including opening up of nurseries for paddy plants, besides alternative irrigation facilities.

The 14 districts declared drought-hit are Bongaigaon, Cachar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Jorhat, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, and Sivasagar.