Maharashtra govt declares 265 of 358 talukas drought-affected, announces relief measures

Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) The Maharashtra government on Saturday declared 265 of the state's 358 talukas drought-affected, announcing a slew of relief measures, including crop loan restructuring, land revenue concessions, and power bill subsidies.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed district collectors to initiate crop-damage assessments immediately and assured that farmers remain the centre of the government's relief efforts in the drought situation.

According to a government resolution issued late on Friday, 265 talukas spread across 32 districts cover 74 per cent of the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said the actual financial assistance to farmers will be decided after the ground-level assessment.

The state government has activated 'Trigger-1' under the Drought Management Code 2016 (updated in 2020) to declare drought conditions and initiate relief.

Trigger-1 is the first stage in the state's drought framework, activated by a rainfall deficit of more than 25 per cent combined with a prolonged dry spell of 21 days.

A report submitted by the Agriculture Commissioner found drought-like conditions in the 265 talukas across 32 districts due to rainfall deficit and other factors since June.

As per the report, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division has the highest number of 74 drought-affected talukas, followed by Amravati with 56, Nashik with 49, Nagpur with 39, Pune with 35 and Thane with 12.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division includes Jalna, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli districts, while Buldhana, Amravati, Akola, Washim and Yavatmal districts come under Amravati division.

The Nagpur division includes Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

As many as 49 talukas in Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nandurbar and Ahilyanagar districts, and 35 talukas in Pune, Solapur, Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur districts have been declared drought-affected.

At least 12 talukas in the Thane revenue division, including one in Raigad, three in Ratnagiri and eight in Sindhudurg, have been included in the list.

"Farmers, agricultural labourers and workers are at the centre of our relief efforts in the drought situation. All possible efforts will be made to provide them relief," the Chief Minister's Office said quoting Fadnavis.

The government has directed district collectors to begin crop-loss assessments in the affected talukas and collect photographs and GPS coordinates of the surveyed areas to document crop conditions. The reports are to be submitted to the government through the agriculture commissioner.

The government has announced a slew of relief measures, including land revenue concessions, restructuring of crop loans, postponement of recovery of agriculture-related loans and concessions in electricity bills of agricultural pumps.

The GR stated that electricity bills of agricultural pumps up to 7.5 horsepower had already been waived, and the newly announced concession would apply to pumps above that capacity in the affected areas.

The measures also include waiver of examination fees for school and college students, relaxation of norms under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to enable maximum works, deployment of water tankers wherever necessary and ensuring uninterrupted power supply to agricultural pumps in villages affected by water scarcity.

Arrangements will also be made to ensure foodgrains for farmers and labourers dependent on agriculture and adequate fodder for livestock.

Water conservation works and arrangements for drinking water for people and livestock will also be undertaken, the government stated.

A government order on Saturday said that a separate GR will be issued on financial assistance for crop losses suffered by farmers in the 265 drought-affected talukas after completion of the prescribed procedure.

The Opposition parties, meanwhile, slammed the state government for having delayed the declaration of drought, claiming that the situation on the ground was much worse.

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said that Fadnavis had earlier accused the Opposition of politicising the drought issue, but had now officially declared it under Trigger-1, when the situation on the ground is already worse than what is prescribed under Trigger-3.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the state government must now focus on implementing relief measures and ensure that every affected farmer gets assistance.

Thackeray, who is on a tour of drought-hit areas in Marathwada, said his party had been demanding the declaration of drought for some time and the decision should have been taken earlier.

The Kisan Sabha stated that the government order lacked adequate measures to provide direct relief to affected farmers.

It demanded that farmers affected by two consecutive failed kharif seasons be provided concrete financial assistance, including loan waivers and compensation based on crop insurance coverage.

As per government data, the state recorded an 18.8 per cent rainfall deficit, receiving actual rainfall of 755.9 mm from June to September 18, compared to its average of 932.3 mm, amid the El Niño phenomenon.