Farmers get Rs 50,000 incentive, Opposition again demands declaration of ‘wet drought’ in state

The MVA government, however, could not pay the incentive amount in the wake of two years of Covid-19 pandemic. The then opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had criticised the state government for not paying the incentive.

“The previous government had made an announcement about an incentive that could not be followed. We are now fulfilling the promise and today, we pay Rs 50,000 to each of the 6.90 lakh farmer accounts, which have been standardised by the Cooperation Department. Soon, we will ensure that the amount is paid to all remaining farmers as well,” said state Finance minister Devendra Fadnavis. He said the incentive scheme was important since in the wake of the loan waiver announcement, those who have repaid all their crop loans in a timely manner feel demoralised. “It is important to acknowledge them as well,” he said.

Fadnavis further added that the state government is planning to introduce a technology through which panchnamas on the destruction of farmland due to natural calamities are conducted via satellite and the compensation is paid on auto-pilot mode, without human intervention. “Yesterday, we had a presentation on the same. There are certain technical issues and we feel that once we sort those out, we are ready to roll this out,” he said.

Meanwhile, a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered a thorough review of the destruction caused by the returning monsoon spells in many parts of the state, the opposition Congress on Thursday alleged that the state government was delaying the announcement of ‘wet drought’ in the state. “The Shinde-Fadnavis government does not seem very keen to help Maharashtra’s farmers. It was expected on the eve of Diwali that the government will extend some good news to the farmers but it did not,” said Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole.

When asked about Patole’s comments, Fadnavis said the announcement of ‘wet drought’ was to ensure a better relief package for farmers. “We are going to give a relief package to farmers and nobody should worry about it,” he said, adding that directions have been given to district collector offices to access the extent of damage due to rains.