Maharashtra drought: Sharad Pawar seeks Rs 50,000 per hectare aid for farmers
NCP (SP) chief seeks immediate relief, loan waiver, crop insurance and water measures as he cites deficient rainfall across 31 districts
Mumbai, Sep 18 (PTI) NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to declare a state of drought in severely affected talukas and provide financial assistance of at least Rs 50,000 per hectare to farmers facing crop losses due to a severe rainfall deficit.
In a letter to the chief minister on Wednesday, Pawar noted that inadequate rainfall in 31 of the state's 36 districts has destroyed standing crops like soybean, cotton, and pulses, while drastically reducing sowing areas and creating an acute shortage of drinking water and fodder.
He demanded that the government declare a drought without waiting for official formalities and provide immediate relief to the affected regions.
The former Union agriculture minister also sought Rs 50,000 per hectare for farmers and Rs 25,000 each for farm-labourer families as special assistance.
He also sought immediate implementation of a farm loan waiver scheme and availability of fresh crop loans.
Pawar, in his letter, demanded an increase in the incentive for farmers who regularly repay loans from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, and sought that farmers who took crop loans in 2025-26 but defaulted this year also be included in the waiver scheme.
He further sought retrospective implementation of the Rs 1 crop-insurance scheme, including previously excluded triggers, and immediate disbursal of the Rs 17,000 per hectare assistance announced for crop losses caused by unseasonal rains last year.
For areas facing drought-like conditions, Pawar sought special works under the employment guarantee scheme covering agriculture and water conservation, besides tanker arrangements to protect orchards.
He also called for immediate surveys of villages facing drinking-water shortages, deployment of government tankers wherever required, fodder camps, drinking water for livestock and veterinary services.
Pawar sought a special drive by the Energy Department to ensure timely repair of electricity transformers in areas facing increased load-shedding.
He also demanded state and district-level control rooms to monitor rainfall, crop and livestock conditions, water scarcity, and fodder availability daily.
Pawar also appealed to the chief minister to waive educational fees, and not merely examination fees, for students studying in schools, colleges and other educational institutions in drought-affected talukas.
He noted that most parts of Maharashtra were facing a serious situation due to deficient rainfall and farmers were under severe stress.
Pawar said 31 of the state's 36 districts had received significantly less rainfall than their average.
Between June 1 and September 15, the state received 648 mm rainfall, which he claimed was 19 per cent below the average.
He said Mumbai, Raigad, Palghar and Vidarbha were among the worst-hit areas, and that in some districts, rainfall during the last three months was around 60 per cent below normal.
Pawar highlighted that Marathwada had received 69 per cent below normal rainfall during the June-August period, followed by Vidarbha at 61 per cent and Konkan at 33 per cent, while some districts in western and northern Maharashtra had recorded a 28 per cent deficit.
He also pointed to a decline in the area under sowing in some regions, citing that in Vidarbha, the area under sowing, which was around 50.04 lakh hectares by the end of August last year, had fallen to around 47.5 lakh hectares this year.
In Marathwada, the corresponding area had declined from 48.21 lakh hectares last year to 46.19 lakh hectares this year, he added.
He cited data from the World Meteorological Organisation to claim that the impact of the El Niño phenomenon could become more severe, and its effects could be seen from 2027. PTI