Maharashtra govt declares drought in 40 talukas

The Drought Management Code of 2016 was taken into consideration, which included mandatory indicators and impact indicators.

“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have also instructed the Relief and Rehabilitation Department’s sub-committee to quickly decide on the appropriate relief for the affected talukas,” as per the statement.

Maharashtra received 13.4 per cent less rainfall this year, and the Rabi sowing is also delayed. So far, only 12 per cent of the sowing has been done, it said.

The government has also decided to provide assistance up to three hectares (of land) instead of two hectares to the victims of natural disasters as per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms.

Events like extreme rainfall and natural disasters caused agricultural losses from June to October this year.

As per SDRF norms, instead of a two-hectare limit, aid will now be given up to three hectares. The assistance which was restricted to farmers with small landholdings will now be available up to the three-hectare limit to those who are not small landholding farmers.