Over 85 per cent of Maharashtra’s talukas have been declared drought-hit after the state government added 40 more regions to the list, taking the total affected sub-divisions to 305 out of 358, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister said the decision to deposit Rs 5,000 in the accounts of farmers has been taken as full administrative and central assessment procedures take time and cannot legally conclude before Diwali. Last month, the state government declared drought in 265 talukas following rainfall deficit and announced relief measures, including crop loan restructuring, land revenue concessions, and power bill subsidies.
In areas where irrigation/dam water is available, farmers are urged to cultivate rabi jowar and fodder crops. The chief minister said a supplementary Government Resolution (GR) has been issued adding 40 more talukas to the drought-hit list. An authenticated list of an additional 3.5 lakh farmers has been processed to receive scheduled debt relief payments in parallel, the chief minister said. Nearly 16,000 illegal water connections were disconnected to preserve drinking supplies, with a zero-tolerance policy for unauthorised water extraction, the Chief Minister informed. Fodder reserves vary between 90 days and 7 months depending on the region. The cabinet also passed a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for completing 25 years as head of government, Fadnavis said.
The state government is committed to purchasing all harvested fodder at Minimum Support Price (MSP), he said.
