Maharashtra announces relief measures in drought—Restructures crop loans, concessions in pump electric bills; check list
The Maharashtra government today declared drought in 74% or 265 of 358 talukas of the state amid deficit in rainfall, PTI reported. Prior to this, in a government resolution dated late on Friday, 25 September, the state listed the 32 affected districts, with Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division having the highest number of affected talukas, at 74.
The government in its order on Saturday, 26 September, announced relief measures, such as crop loan restructuring, land revenue concessions, and power bill subsidies. Further, it noted that financial assistance for crop losses will be announced after the prescribed procedure in a separate GR.
Drought Management Code’s ‘Trigger-1’ activated
Notably, the state has activated ‘Trigger-1’ under the state Drought Management Code 2016 (updated in 2020) to declare drought conditions and initiate relief. This is the first stage in Maharashtra’s drought framework, which is activated in case of rainfall deficit of 25% and prolonged dry spell of 21 days combined.
The report said Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division has the highest number of drought-affected talukas — 74, followed by Amravati — 56, Nashik — 49, Nagpur — 39, Pune — 35, and Thane — 12. Other districts on the list include, Sindhudurg — 8, Ratnagiri — 3, and Raigad — 1, the report added.
What are the relief measures announced?
The state has announced a number of relief measures as follows:
Farmers receive crop insurance, govt scheme benefits
The report added that state Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne said officials will conduct accurate and transparent panchnamas (crop-loss surveys), undertake crop-cutting experiments on an urgent basis and ensure that farmers receive benefits under crop insurance and various government schemes.
“It is extremely painful to watch standing crops being lost before the eyes of farmers. Therefore, we do not want to stop at merely declaring drought, but want to ensure that actual assistance reaches farmers,” Bharne said.
