The Opposition parties in Maharashtra, that have been demanding the declaration of 'wet drought' in the state, on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had demanded it when he was the leader of the Opposition. The Opposition brought up a letter by Fadnavis in 2020 to the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding the declaration of wet drought. This comes a day after Fadnavis, while responding to the opposition’s demand to declare a ‘wet drought’ due to heavy rain and flooding, said that the term does not exist officially. “In his letter to former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on October 16, 2020, then Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had demanded the declaration of wet drought. How can the concept of wet drought come alive when you were LoP and become not maintainable when you are the Chief Minister?" asked Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. In his letter, Fadnavis had mentioned that considering the losses caused by returning monsoon the government should declare wet drought and extend the help as per the criterion of drought. Another opposition MLA from Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Rohit Pawar questioned whether the chief minister has lost his sensitivity after coming to the top post. “We firmly demand that the farmers should be given Rs 50,000 per hectare and the announcement of farm loan waiver," said Pawar. Fadnavis on Tuesday said that nearly 60 lakh hectares of land have been impacted due to recent flooding. Speaking after the state Cabinet meeting, Fadnavis had said that the government has already declared and disbursed Rs 2,215 crore for crop damage that occurred in July and August. He noted that a full assessment of the damage is still underway as floodwaters recede and that a final aid package for farmers will be announced in the next cabinet meeting, with the goal of getting the funds to farmers before Diwali. Fadnavis also clarified that while the term “wet drought” isn not an official government designation, the administration will consider all norms of “scarcity in natural calamity” to provide assistance. “Never before has a ‘wet drought’ been announced. But we will ensure that all facilities extended in case of a natural calamity will be extended in this case,” Fadnavis added.
