During his two-day stay, the Chief Minister will also try to meet Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and urge him to bring an early solution to the Sardar Sarovar dam project. ``I will also request the Prime Minister to initiate efforts for an out-of-court settlement of the Narmada issue,'' the Chief Minister said at the weekly Cabinet Press briefing here on Monday.

Armed with memoranda prepared by heads of various State departments, Patel is scheduled to meet Union ministers concerned separately and discuss with them the State's issues pending since long with the Centre. These include increase in crude oil royalty, more funds for relief to the Kandla cyclone victims and funds under the accelerated irrigation benefits programme, besides the Narmada issue.

The Chief Minister said he would also seek Central assistance to meet the whopping expenses being incurred by the State in dealing with the water scarcity. ``The Government may have to spend a huge amount to solve the drinking water problem which may become more acute in the coming days. Besides, the government will have to start relief work and arrange for fodder in the scarcity-hit areas,'' Patel said. He, however, declined to put into figures the exact amount of assistance he proposed to seek from the Centre for the purpose.

Patel also took pains to explain why his Government had failed to secure substantial financial assistance for relief work for the Kandla cyclone of 1998. ``We have already received provisional assistance of Rs 55 crore from the National Calamity Fund for relief work,'' was all he said in response to a query on how much the government had got till now got from the Centre as against its demand of Rs 600 crore.

He said he would request the Union Petroleum Ministry to immediately undertake exploration of natural gas and oil in Gujarat, which has been suspended for long. ``There are huge gas and oil reserves in parts of the State and the Centre, under its new exploration policy, should carry out research and tap these resources,'' Patel said.