Chandrapur Collector orders drought panchnamas in 12 talukas completed by October 10

All panchnamas of drought losses in Chandrapur district must be completed by October 10 without fail, Collector Vasumana Pant has directed officials. Twelve talukas of the district have been declared drought-hit because of scanty rain and a long dry spell during the monsoon.

The panchnama process is under way in 1,579 villages of these talukas, and 50 to 60 per cent of the panchnamas have been completed so far. At a review meeting on drought relief held at the Collector's office, Pant said no negligence in this work would be tolerated.

Pant said the administration must treat the panchnamas of damaged farmland with utmost seriousness. Every tehsildar should review the work each evening, and up-to-date figures on the area covered and the number of landholders surveyed should be entered regularly in a Google Sheet.

The state government is reviewing the panchnama work regularly, which is why all panchnamas have been asked to be completed by October 10. Officials and staff at taluka and village level must coordinate well. To ensure there are no gaps, tehsildars should visit fields from time to time to check the work and re-verify the details entered in the panchnamas. The signature of the farmer concerned must be taken on every panchnama. Lists of completed panchnamas should be put up at the chaupal and at gram panchayat level.

Reviewing the water shortage, Pant said the water sources now available must first be reserved for drinking water. Strict action should be taken against anyone found drawing water illegally from reserved sources. Though water is available at present, it is necessary to draw up a proper plan for water supply through the coming summer and until the next monsoon. Every taluka should begin planning now, based on the available water stocks and the likely demand.

Pant asked that as many jalshivar and water conservation works as possible be taken up in villages under the Employment Guarantee Scheme. The departments concerned should set fixed targets for these works and begin implementation immediately. Banks should ensure that no complaint is received against any bank over loan recovery from farmers in drought-hit areas. The animal husbandry department should immediately submit taluka-wise information on how much fodder is currently available in the district.

Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Pulkit Singh, Resident Deputy Collector Dagdu Kumbhar, Deputy Collector (Employment Guarantee Scheme) Shubham Dandekar, Mahavitaran Superintending Engineer Manoj Dabharde, District Supply Officer Rahul Bahadurkar, Assistant Commissioner, Animal Husbandry, Dr Suresh Kumbare, groundwater scientist Leena Barahate and District Disaster Management Officer Salim Shaikh were present. All sub-divisional officers, tehsildars, block development officers and taluka agriculture officers joined through video conference.