Treat unseasonal rain in Maha as wet drought: CM

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday directed the administration to consider the unseasonal rain as wet drought and extend all relief benefits given in

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday directed the administration to consider the unseasonal rain as wet drought and extend all relief benefits given in drought situation to the affected farmers. He held a meeting with guardian ministers, who toured their districts, to review the crop losses.

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According to preliminary estimates, the unseasonal rain over the past three weeks has destroyed crops on 70 lakh hectares. Cotton and soya bean were the worst-hit crops, with losses on more than 18 lakh hectares each. Losses owing to unseasonal rain are not covered under the National Disaster Response Fund norms applicable to drought. Consequently, farmers and political leaders have been demanding the situation be termed ‘wet drought.’

Fadnavis has also directed the administration to complete the panchanamas at the earliest and credit the relief amount to the farmers’ accounts. “The crops in the state were hit by unseasonal rain, cyclone and flooding, an unprecedented situation in the past 30-40 years. The crops, which were in good condition owing to the satisfactory rain this year, have been destroyed, leading to huge losses. The administration should extend immediate relief to farmers,” he said.

The meeting was attended by Shiv Sena ministers Ramdas Kadam, Eknath Shinde, Diwakar Raote, besides senior BJP ministers.

Kadam said the CM considered their demand for immediate relief of ₹25,000/hectare (ha) to the farmers. “We attended the meeting on the direction of our party chief Uddhav Thackeray. Affected farmers will be given financial aid of ₹25,000 for a hectare,” he said.

Fadnavis has also directed the district machinery to conduct flawless panchanamas to ensure the immediate compensation from crop insurance companies. He also directed the guardian ministers to hold meetings in coordination with the district administration to expedite the process of settlement of claims. He said the Centre is considering holding a meeting with crop insurance companies.