Maharashtra Government Extends Drought Relief Measures To Flood-Hit Farmers
Crops across nearly 60 lakh hectares have been severely damaged due to incessant and heavy rainfall: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has announced that farmers affected by recent floods will receive the same relief measures and concessions typically extended during drought conditions. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Mantralaya.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Fadnavis said that crops across nearly 60 lakh hectares have been severely damaged due to incessant and heavy rainfall. He assured that all assistance would be provided to affected farmers ahead of the Diwali festival.
The announcement of Maharashtra government comes days after the opposition parties demanded declaration of “wet drought” in the state in response to the widespread crop loss. Responding to these demands, Mr. Fadnavis stated that there is no term such as “wet drought” in the government manual, nor has it ever been declared in the past. “However, we have decided to provide all the measures and concessions, which are implemented in drought-like situations in the state, to the farmers,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis acknowledged that the primary intention behind the demand to declare a “wet drought” was to ensure timely and comprehensive assistance to farmers. He said that the government is committed to fulfilling that objective, even if the term is not officially recognised.
Once a drought is officially declared, it triggers a set of immediate relief measures, such as a moratorium on loan recovery, restructuring of crop loans, waivers on land revenue, exemptions from examination fees for students, and relaxation of work norms under the Employment Guarantee Scheme. These provisions will now be applied to flood-affected farmers across the state.
The Chief Minister also said that banks have been instructed to stop loan recoveries from farmers. He further informed that the government has relaxed e-KYC norms to simplify the process of aid distribution.
The chief minister added that the state would use data from the Agristack digital platform to identify and deliver benefits to eligible farmers. “In the next two-three days, a comprehensive policy will be prepared for providing assistance to the farmers. The announcement of kinds of the assistance will be done by next week. We are trying to credit the financial assistance to the bank accounts of the farmers before the Diwali festival,” he said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne announced that all the officials and personnel of his department will donate one day’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF). The total amount would be Rs 6,17,50,000. He also said that the department will instruct insurance companies to complete the procedure for providing compensation to the farmers. “We will instruct the insurance companies to expedite the procedure for compensation,” he said.