Rs 4,372 crore Diwali aid reaches 87.45 lakh drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra

Advance Diwali aid has reached the bank accounts of more than 87.45 lakh farmers in 304 drought-hit talukas of Maharashtra. State Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makarand Jadhav Patil said on Friday that a total of Rs 4,372.83 crore had been distributed by Thursday.

The aid was announced by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. To give relief to farmers in the drought conditions, he had assured eligible farmers Rs 5,000 each before Diwali.

Jadhav Patil said the work of sending money to the remaining eligible farmers was continuing. Payments that ran into technical problems would be released as soon as the problems were resolved. According to the minister, the Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, and Agriculture departments worked on a war footing so that the aid went directly into farmers' bank accounts.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division saw the highest disbursement, with 33.36 lakh farmers receiving Rs 1,668.18 crore. District-wise, Beed received Rs 306.05 crore for 6.12 lakh farmers, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Rs 222.19 crore for 4.44 lakh farmers and Dharashiv Rs 173.54 crore for 3.47 lakh farmers. Hingoli got Rs 106.38 crore for 2.12 lakh farmers, Jalna Rs 219.42 crore for 4.38 lakh farmers, Latur Rs 190.98 crore for 3.81 lakh farmers, Nanded Rs 281.43 crore for 5.62 lakh farmers and Parbhani Rs 168.19 crore for 3.36 lakh farmers.

In Nashik division, 18.07 lakh farmers received a total of Rs 903.52 crore. This includes Rs 403.64 crore for 8.07 lakh farmers in Ahilyanagar, Rs 32.97 crore for 65,930 farmers in Dhule, Rs 204.32 crore for 4.08 lakh farmers in Jalgaon, Rs 53.77 crore for 1.07 lakh farmers in Nandurbar and Rs 208.82 crore for 4.17 lakh farmers in Nashik.

In Pune division, Rs 753.19 crore went into the accounts of 15.06 lakh farmers. Kolhapur's 74,893 farmers received Rs 37.45 crore, Pune's 3.28 lakh farmers Rs 164.27 crore, Sangli's 2.06 lakh farmers Rs 103.30 crore, Satara's 3.01 lakh farmers Rs 150.73 crore and Solapur's 5.94 lakh farmers Rs 297.44 crore.

In Amravati division, Rs 641.10 crore was paid to 12.82 lakh farmers. Akola's 1.62 lakh farmers received Rs 81.08 crore, Amravati's 3.06 lakh farmers Rs 153.35 crore, Buldhana's 4.25 lakh farmers Rs 212.92 crore, Washim's 1.59 lakh farmers Rs 79.75 crore and Yavatmal's 2.28 lakh farmers Rs 114 crore.

In Nagpur division, Rs 375.02 crore was transferred to 7.50 lakh farmers. Bhandara's 1,00,158 farmers received Rs 50.08 crore, Chandrapur's 2,00,629 farmers Rs 100.31 crore, Gadchiroli's 30,788 farmers Rs 15.39 crore, Gondia's 74,910 farmers Rs 37.46 crore, Nagpur's 1.92 lakh farmers Rs 96.38 crore and Wardha's 1.50 lakh farmers Rs 75.40 crore.

Konkan division saw the lowest disbursement, with 63,647 farmers receiving Rs 31.82 crore. Palghar's 8,213 farmers got Rs 4.11 crore, Raigad's 2,218 farmers Rs 1.11 crore, Ratnagiri's 22,494 farmers Rs 11.25 crore and Sindhudurg's 30,722 farmers Rs 15.36 crore.

Some farmers have not yet received the money. Technical problems with bank accounts, errors in account details and other reasons have been cited. Officials concerned are working to resolve these problems and clear the stalled payments.

Jadhav Patil said the government had directed the departments concerned to ensure that no eligible drought-affected farmer is left out of the aid. The distribution is being monitored, and the remaining eligible beneficiaries will also get their money once the technical problems are resolved.