Exam fees of students from 7,064 villages to be waived

The system of Paisewari,meaning ‘value of the crop’,is used in Maharashtra as a criterion for drought declaration.

In every village,prior to the harvest of the Kharif crop,the state estimates the crop grown. A plot is chosen and the crop yield is measured. If the crop growth percentage is less than 50 per cent (of the average of 10 years),that is considered a drought year. Students from the drought-hit areas and studying in colleges of Pune,Mumbai and Nagpur had been complaining about their precarious financial condition and demanding some relief from the state for this year.

Among other measures taken to mitigate the effect and impact of the drought on the people of the state,the state had recently issued directives to provide temporary rationing facilities to all migrants who have been forced to move out of their homes due to the drought.

The state is reeling under a severe drought situation with 16 of its 28 districts facing water shortage. Over 6,000 villages in 123 talukas are affected by the drought. It has caused large-scale migration of people. Politicians,including NCP chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar,had called for providing temporary ration cards to such migrants.

The average water stock in the state’s 2,475 irrigation projects stands at 35 per cent. The position last year was 45 per cent. Marathwada has the least stock of 13 per cent compared to last year’s 39 per cent. Konkan’s water stock stands at 62 per cent.