The Maharashtra Government announced here on Monday that it would come out with a compressive relief package for farmers affected by the recurring spells of hailstorms and unseasonal rains.
Responding queries on the issue raised by the Opposition members in the Maharashtra Assembly, State Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said that the State Government would soon be convening a special Cabinet meeting to formalise comprehensive relief package for the farmers affected by hailstorms and unseasonal rains. “We will come out with the package for farmers before the end of the ongoing Budget Session of the State legislature,” he said.
Khadse, who also holds the Agriculture portfolio, said that the revenue authorities had so far not been able to complete the work of assessing crop losses owing to recurring spells of unseasonal rains and hailstorms. “We have not been able to compile the panchnamas on the crop losses across the State owing to the continued spells of hailstorms and unseasonal rains,” he said.
Quoting the forecast of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Khadse said: “There would be more hailstorms and unseasonal rains during the next three days”. Khadse said that in an effort to save time on carrying out assessment of crop losses, he had instructed the officials to declare entire village farm lands as “affected.”
“Instead of spending time to compile precise figures of losses, I have asked the revenue officials concerned to declare village agricultural lands as affected and expedite the process of announcing welfare schemes for affected farmers,” Khadse said.
Earlier, raising the issue, leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said that standing crop in more than 75,000 hectares of land had been destroyed owing to recurring spells of unseasonal rains and hailstorms. He demanded that the Maharashtra government must announce a complete waiver of loans and electricity dues.