4,518 more villages drought-hit, Maharashtra declares relief measures

Maharashtra has 358 tehsils, with each tehsil comprising between 50 and 80 villages, and there are more than 2,000 revenue circles, with 20 to 40 villages in each circle.

Almost half of Maharashtra’s villages are now reeling under drought, with the state government adding another 4,518 villages to the list on Thursday. As per rough estimates, around 21,000 villages in the state are currently drought-hit.

The state had earlier announced drought in 151 tehsils and 318 revenue circles. (HT File Photo)

The state had earlier announced drought in 151 tehsils and 318 revenue circles.

Maharashtra has 358 tehsils, with each tehsil comprising between 50 and 80 villages, and there are more than 2,000 revenue circles, with 20 to 40 villages in each circle.

“The villages that received less than 75% of the average rainfall and those with crop estimates, or Anewari, of less than 50% have been declared drought-hit. The state government will immediately provide all relief measures in the affected villages,” said a senior official from the state relief and rehabilitation department. The department, too, issued a government resolution (GR) to this effect.

Among the immediate relief measures announced by the state are exemption for farmers from paying land revenue; restructuring of farm loans; stay on recovery of farm loans; 33.5% concession in electricity bills for agriculture pumps; no disconnection of electricity supply of agriculture pumps over non-payment of bill; and waiver on exam fees of school and colleges students; among other things.

Around 60%, or 85.76 lakh hectares, of the total cultivable land in the state and 82.27 lakh farmers have been affected by drought so far. The calamity has also hit the sowing for rabi season. As per statistics from the state agriculture department, sowing was recorded on 29.6 lakh hectares of area till December-end, which is only 52% of the average sowing in the season.

To deal with the crisis, the state had sought a financial assistance of Rs7,962 crore from the Centre, which announced it will provide Rs4,714 crore. The state has decided to get the remaining amount from its kitty. The government has, so far, spent around Rs3,000 crore on drought relief measures.

Farmers hit by hailstorm, unseasonal rain

A few districts of Vidarbha witnessed hailstorms and unseasonal rains on Thursday, adding to the woes of farmers, with those cultivating crops for the rabi season likely to face huge losses.

There was hailstorm in two tehsils — Bhokardan and Ghasangvi – of Jalna district in Vidarbha, while untimely rainfall was recorded in parts of Buldhana, Amravati and Washim districts of the region. The state has directed district administrations to assess the crop loss. “We are assessing the situation and will take further decision based on the reports from district administration,” said Chandrakant Patil, state relief and rehabilitation minister.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday had issued a warning for hailstorms and unseasonal rain on February 20 and 21, after which the state had issued an advisory asking farmers to take precautionary measures and be prepared for the inclement weather.