Maharashtra declares 265 talukas drought-hit; relief package announced

The Maharashtra government on Saturday declared 265 of the state's 358 talukas drought-affected, covering nearly 74% of the state, and announced a relief package that includes restructuring of crop loans, concessions on land revenue, deferment of agriculture loan recovery and electricity bill relief for farm pumps.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed district collectors to begin assessing crop damage immediately in the affected talukas. The government said farmers would remain at the centre of its relief efforts.

The declaration activates 'Trigger-1' under the state's Drought Management Code 2016, which is triggered when rainfall is more than 25% below normal with a dry spell of at least 21 days. A report from the Agriculture Commissioner identified drought-like conditions in 265 talukas across 32 districts since June.

The worst-hit region is the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, which includes Jalna, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli districts, with 74 affected talukas. Amravati follows with 56, Nashik with 49 and Nagpur with 39. Pune and Thane divisions have 35 and 12 talukas respectively. The list also includes talukas from Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the Thane revenue division.

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said the extent of financial assistance would be determined after detailed assessments at the ground level. Officials will collect photographs and GPS coordinates of surveyed areas and submit findings through the Agriculture Commissioner.

The government has already waived electricity bills for agricultural pumps up to 7.5 horsepower. The new concession covers pumps above 7.5 horsepower in drought-affected areas. Other measures include waiver of examination fees for school and college students in those areas, relaxation of norms under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to generate more work, deployment of water tankers, uninterrupted electricity supply to farm pumps, and arrangements for foodgrain, fodder and drinking water.

A separate government resolution on financial assistance for crop losses will be issued after the prescribed assessment procedures, the government said.

Opposition parties criticised the timing of the declaration. Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said the government had earlier accused the Opposition of politicising the drought issue but had now officially declared drought under Trigger-1 even though conditions on the ground were worse than those prescribed under Trigger-3. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who is touring drought-hit areas in Marathwada, said his party had been demanding the declaration for some time and that the government's immediate priority should be implementation of relief measures and ensuring every affected farmer receives assistance.