Mumbai: As crop damage mounts across Maharashtra, the state government is expected to issue a preliminary drought notification by Saturday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday. The announcement came after a Cabinet meeting at which the drought-like situation caused by deficient rainfall, particularly in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha, was discussed in detail.
Mr Fadnavis said the preliminary information on drought-affected areas had been collected following directions issued at an earlier Cabinet meeting. “We will issue the first drought notification before Saturday based on the preliminary information collected from the field. The notification will contain information about the drought-affected areas and measures to tackle the situation,” he said.
The CM added that the list of affected areas would be kept updated and expanded as field assessments progressed.
The government has directed the administration to conduct panchnamas of damaged crops through ground-level assessments, with the exercise beginning on Wednesday. Soybean, maize, cotton and sorghum are among the crops reported to have suffered significant damage. In the Konkan region, paddy crops have also been affected.
Mr. Fadnavis said the state would not wait for assistance from the Centre to begin providing relief to affected farmers. However, a proposal seeking financial assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms would subsequently be submitted to the Centre.
A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has also been constituted to monitor the situation and take decisions on relief measures. Its members are Girish Mahajan, Gulabrao Patil, Sanjay Rathod, Pankaja Munde, Datta Bharne, Jaykumar Gore, Pratap Sarnaik, Makarand Dada Patil and Babasaheb Patil. Chief Secretary Rajesh Agarwal will be the committee’s secretary. “The committee will meet every week to review the field reports,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
The panel has been given Cabinet-equivalent powers, except in matters involving major policy decisions, to enable it to take decisions and expedite relief measures.
Drinking water and fodder for livestock have been identified as immediate priorities. Mr. Fadnavis said district administrations could face drought-related pressure for the next seven to eight months and directed municipal corporations, municipal councils and panchayat institutions to plan water supplies accordingly.
At least 17 of Maharashtra’s 36 districts had received less than 75 per cent of their expected rainfall as of September 21, according to government data.
Mr. Fadnavis is also scheduled to begin touring drought-affected areas from Wednesday. Ministers and legislators have been directed to visit farms and interact with farmers to assess the situation on the ground and gather suggestions from affected communities.
Officials said Mr .Fadnavis would visit Latur, Dharashiv and Solapur districts on Wednesday.
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