No loan recovery from drought-hit farmers, minister orders; 20% water cut in cities proposed

No bank or credit society employee should visit any farmer's door to recover loans during the drought. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, chairman of the drought mitigation sub-committee, has issued the order. Suggestions were also made at the meeting for a 20 per cent water cut in urban areas and a halt on new construction work.

The Cabinet sub-committee met at Mantralaya and reviewed the state's scarcity situation. Bawankule asked Chief Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to ask the Reserve Bank of India whether it would issue a circular stopping loan recovery. He also said district collectors and police officers should be instructed to ensure that credit societies and banks do not approach farmers for recovery. Bawankule said farmers should get every help and that the farmer's signature has been taken on every panchnama.

The water saved through cuts in urban areas will be kept as a buffer stock for June next year. Drinking water and fodder for animals will be given priority.

The meeting was told that, along with the scarcity of fodder and water, measures were needed to control the water storage in dams and ponds. Big construction works should be restricted, and cement roads and works that waste water should be avoided. Collectors should set water as a priority in CSR funds. Power to pumps will be cut, and village ponds and percolation tanks should be taken over for drinking water. Water should be allotted in this order: first drinking, then fodder crops, then rabi crops such as wheat, and lastly sugarcane.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Pankaja Munde suggested that permission for private and commercial construction be stopped in areas facing water scarcity. Minister Girish Mahajan directed that electricity connections be cut to stop water theft around ponds. The ministers also suggested that this be used in drought mitigation work.

Principal Secretary Vinita Ved Singhal said that instructions have been given to issue a government resolution immediately for all affected areas, including the 43 talukas where Trigger-2 applies, without waiting for paperwork delays. The initial proposal for fodder camps will be prepared under the chairmanship of the district collector. A committee of the Zilla Parishad CEO and officials of the agriculture and animal husbandry departments should be formed to finalise it.