Maharashtra: State to give subsidy for orchard plantation

Government officials said orchards have been destroyed to a large extent in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Thane and Palghar districts. (File)

Three weeks after Cyclone Nisarga destroyed orchards in the Konkan region, the state government Thursday decided to provide subsidy for plantation of orchards through the employment guarantee scheme. The decision was taken in a state Cabinet meet today.

Government officials said orchards have been destroyed to a large extent in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Thane and Palghar districts.

“The orchards of mango, cashew, coconut, betel nut and others have been destroyed in municipal and rural areas. Farmers, whose names figure in the joint inspection of the assessment of the damages, will be eligible to avail the scheme for the plantation of orchards,” said an official.

The official added farmers whose orchards have been completely or partially destroyed in the cyclone can also avail the benefits of the scheme.

Earlier, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had suggested Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to link the state’s employment guarantee scheme with the orchard plantation scheme to help the revival of the areas affected by the cyclone in Konkan.

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