36 more talukas to be surveyed for drought, ground-truthing in 18 others: Bawankule

In view of the drought situation in the state, a decision has been taken to survey 36 more talukas outside the earlier list of 265 talukas. A government resolution to this effect has been issued with the approval of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in Nagpur.

In 18 talukas from which complaints were received about the drought criteria, 20 per cent ground-truthing, that is, physical verification, will be carried out first. Inclusion of these talukas in the drought list will be considered after that, Bawankule said. A list of 18 more talukas has also been received and a report has been sought on it. Once the report arrives, ground-truthing will be done there too and the next decision taken, he said. He added that people's representatives had visited farmers' fields to inspect the situation, and that their representations and recommendations had also been considered.

Speaking to the media at Nagpur airport, he said the Centre had taken note of the situation in Maharashtra and promptly sent teams. The teams will survey the situation in the state. State officials held a meeting with the central team, at which a detailed presentation on crop damage was made. The team was told about damage to soybean, cotton, tur, turmeric and orchards. Bawankule expressed confidence that Maharashtra would receive substantial help from the Centre through the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

On rebellion in the Legislative Council elections, Bawankule said the Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to ensure that its workers do not rebel. If there is a rebellion, the state president, Ravindra Chavan, has the authority to decide. Because BJP leader Anil Sole has filed a nomination, Bawankule appealed to him to withdraw. He said he had spoken to Sole at the previous meeting and thought he would not file, but he did. The party has given the official candidature to Sudhakar Kohale, so Sole should not contest against the official candidate, he said.

Saying the party is like a mother and that in politics one sometimes gets a ticket and sometimes does not, Bawankule cited his own example. He said he was once held back, but the party gave him a ticket again in 2024. He said Sole is a mature leader, that his request is that Sole not take a stand against the party, and that he expects Sole to withdraw by 3 pm. He also said efforts are on to get nominations filed against the official Mahayuti candidates withdrawn in the Amravati and Pune teachers' constituencies as well. Mahayuti leaders are holding talks wherever BJP, Shiv Sena or Nationalist Congress Party candidates have filed against one another.

On the leasing of Agricultural Development Corporation land in Ahilyanagar district for various purposes including solar power projects, Bawankule said the lands have been given to different institutions and companies. He said about 1,500 acres went to the Nibe Group, 1,500 acres to the DRDO and about 1,200 acres to Vishwaraj company. Of these lands, 2,500 acres have been set aside for farmers, and whether land can be returned to the original owner farmers is also under consideration, he clarified.

On Nagpur city's water supply, he appealed to citizens to use water sparingly. He said work on cement roads has been stopped and wasteful use of drinking water will not be allowed. Treated water should be used for construction, and a case will be registered if drinking water is found being used for unnecessary work, he warned. He noted that about 35 per cent of water in Nagpur is not audited, so water is wasted. He also said repairing more than 6,000 small check dams in Nagpur district could increase water storage, and that the government is trying to carry out such work in every district of the state.

Village-wise lists will be prepared of farmers who missed out on crop loan waiver benefits because their e-KYC was not done. For those whose applications have been approved, the talathi and gramsevak will complete e-KYC by going door to door, Bawankule said. He also said that if information is uploaded where there is no network and the network is restored later, it will be updated on the system.

Bawankule criticised the Congress over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said the rolls must be cleaned up properly, that there is time to correct errors, and that the Election Commission has extended the time in Maharashtra. He said that instead of targeting the Election Commission over SIR and EVMs, the focus should be on removing errors. The Commission is a constitutional body and facts should be considered when making allegations, he said. Asked about the High Court's observations in the Sachin Waze case, Bawankule said the court may have raised the question because certain matters had come to its notice.