Fadnavis meets Shah, seeks ₹17,500 cr drought relief package

Mumbai/Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday met union home minister Amit Shah and union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and discussed the severe drought situation in the state, seeking immediate assistance from the central government

Mumbai/Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday met union home minister Amit Shah and union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and discussed the severe drought situation in the state, seeking immediate assistance from the central government.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis (PTI)

The chief minister raised concerns over the shortage of drinking water and fodder in 80% of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas and submitted an interim proposal to the home minister, seeking a ₹17,500-crore package towards compensation for crop losses and arrangement of fodder under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

“The home minister has responded positively and assured that the Centre would provide maximum possible assistance,” Fadnavis said.

On September 26, the state government had declared drought in 265 out of the 358 talukas across Maharashtra and initiated relief measures. Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Fadnavis said the Centre had agreed to consider drought relief even in talukas where some technical criteria were not met.

“About 20 more talukas that may not meet certain satellite-imagery-based criteria could still be considered (for drought relief) on the basis of rainfall, groundwater levels and ground verification. Crop losses caused by uneven rainfall would also be taken into account,” he said.

“Records since the early 2000s show that drought is officially announced in late November or December. But we announced the drought in September itself, so that affected people get relief immediately,” Fadnavis said. The government was prepared to relax certain procedural requirements to ensure that farmers receive assistance quickly, he added.

Latur sets up war room

Latur district in Marathwada is among the worst-affected areas in the state, as all 10 talukas in the district have been declared drought-affected following deficient rainfall and prolonged dry spells during the monsoon.

To tackle the situation, the district administration has set up Maharashtra’s first dedicated drought relief war room, as per an order issued by district collector Bharat Bastewad under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the Drought Management Code, 2016.

“Since the drought situation requires continuous coordination and daily monitoring, a drought relief war room has been established at the district level,” the order dated September 30 stated.

Speaking to Hindustan Times a day after the war room was activated on Tuesday, Bastewad said that one of its key responsibilities would be to obtain village-wise daily reports on drinking water sources, their availability, tanker requirements and identification of tanker-filling points.

“The war room will also monitor action against illegal water extraction, including seizure of pumps used to draw water illegally from public sources, removal of unauthorised water connections and measures to prevent water wastage,” the collector said.

Tahsildar Varsha Manale has been appointed chief and coordinator of the war room, while Naib Tahsildars DM Ghuge and Shivmurti Bansode have been appointed deputy chiefs.

“The war room will coordinate with the animal husbandry department to assess village-wise fodder availability and the possible requirement for fodder camps or depots. It will also collect reports from the agriculture department on crop advisories, measures to protect orchards and planning for the upcoming rabi season,” Bastewad said.

The administration has directed the war room to monitor pre-harvest crop inspections, e-crop surveys and AgriStack Farmer ID registrations daily. Tahsildars have been asked to organise village-level meetings with farmers, hear their grievances, counsel them on the drought situation and provide information about government schemes and relief measures.

All daily reports will be consolidated and submitted to the district collector, resident deputy collector and the concerned nodal officers.