Maharashtra govt must focus on drought relief now and ensure aid for every affected farmer: Aaditya

Latur, Sept 26 With drought being declared in 265 talukas of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said the state government must now focus on the implementation of relief measures and ensure that every affected farmer gets assistance.

Thackeray, who is on a tour to drought-hit areas of Marathwada, said his party had been demanding declaration of drought for some time, and maintained that the decision should have been taken earlier.

The state government on Saturday declared 265 of the 358 talukas in the state as drought-affected, announcing relief measures, including restructuring of crop loans, concession in land revenue and deferment of recovery of agriculture-related loans. According to a government resolution issued late on Friday, this covers 74 per cent of the state.

Most of the drought-affected talukas are in Solapur, Ahilyanagar, Nashik, Latur, Beed, Buldhana, Amravati, Yavatmal, Nagpur and Chandrapur.

"Whether it was delayed or when it should have been declared...we had been continuously demanding that drought be declared earlier. Karnataka declared it before Maharashtra," Thackeray told reporters.

The former state minister, however, said the focus should now shift from the declaration to implementation of relief measures.

"Now that it has been declared, the government should ensure that every farmer gets whatever assistance is provided under the complete drought relief package," he said.

He also cautioned that the impact of the prevailing dry conditions would not remain confined to the agricultural sector alone.

"This drought or Super El Nino is not only going to affect agriculture but urban areas as well. It will affect the entire Maharashtra and the country," he said.

Thackeray called for coordinated action by the Centre and the states to address the wider impact of the situation.

"The state and the central governments should work together and focus on what plans can be announced for the country," he said.

Thackeray is undertaking a two-day tour of drought-affected areas including Solapur, Dharashiv, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, to interact with farmers and assess crop losses.

He was speaking to reporters after inspecting damaged crops at Khanapur village of Tuljapur tehsil in Dharashiv district.

In the GR, the government has directed district collectors to begin crop-loss assessments in the affected talukas and collect photographs and GPS coordinates of the surveyed areas to document crop conditions. The reports are to be submitted to the government through the agriculture commissioner.

The government has announced a slew of relief measures, including land revenue concessions, restructuring of crop loans, postponement of recovery of agriculture-related loans and concessions in electricity bills of agricultural pumps.

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