Maharashtra drought: Which talukas are covered and what farmers will get
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on October 14 that drought now covers 305 of the state's 358 talukas and that farmers will receive an advance of Rs 5,000 in their bank accounts before Diwali.
Drought now covers 305 of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas.
Each farmer in the affected talukas will get Rs 5,000 before Diwali.
The money will go directly into bank accounts.
Loan restructuring, land revenue concessions and electricity relief continue in these talukas.
Tankers and fodder support are being arranged.
Farmers in the affected talukas will receive Rs 5,000 each in advance assistance, transferred directly to their bank accounts before Diwali, according to the same reports.
Fadnavis said the full assessment procedures take time and cannot be completed before Diwali, so the advance is being paid ahead of that process, according to the reports.
The government expedited administrative procedures to announce relief in October and not in November or December, as in earlier years, according to the reports.
Fadnavis said, according to NewsDrum, that this Diwali is going to be difficult for farmers.
He said all 12 standard drought concessions will continue in the affected talukas, according to the reports.
These concessions include restructuring of agricultural loans, land revenue concessions, electricity-related relief and assistance for households, according to NewsDrum.
Reports also mention education fee waivers, water tankers and fodder support as part of the relief.
Payments under the state’s farm loan waiver scheme are being credited to beneficiaries’ accounts, according to NewsDrum, which gave no amounts or beneficiary numbers.
Another report says the government has identified 3.5 lakh farmers for the loan waiver scheme, and the process is under way.
Groundwater has fallen sharply, especially in the Marathwada region, according to NewsDrum.
The government is increasing the number of drinking water tankers, introducing GPS tracking for them and has disconnected 16,000 unauthorised water connections, according to the same report.
Measures to address the shortage of fodder for livestock are also planned, according to NewsDrum.
The articles reviewed carried no reaction from opposition parties or farmer organisations to the announcement.
Mantralaya, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Reporting for Hindustan Hunt on news and stories from across India.
