Mahad farmers hit as rain fails; crop-loss surveys in 188 villages near completion

Farmers in Mahad tehsil are in serious financial distress. The rain turned its back in the middle of the season, and the paddy crop dried up and withered.

Mahad was initially left off the drought-affected list. After the Agriculture Department's report came in, the tehsil was finally included in the "drought-like" list. Under this, the survey of crop damage in the tehsil's 188 villages has now reached its final stage.

The farmers' demand is clear. They say they should not be handed a token sum like last year's, and that compensation should match the actual loss.

Over the past ten years, paddy was sown on about 15,000 hectares in Mahad. This time, erratic rain, water pollution from the MIDC and floods brought sowing down to just 6,000 hectares. Then the rain failed, and paddy on rocky upland fields dried up completely. In many places, even if the crop is harvested, there is no grain, and not even straw for livestock. Angry farmers say it has come to setting fire to the fields instead of harvesting.

Tehsil Agriculture Officer Dheeraj Torane said that, as per the government order, village revenue officers, gram panchayat officers and assistant agriculture officers are visiting fields in the 188 villages to conduct the survey through the tehsildar's office. The process reached its final stage on November 3. He also said that, so that additional assistance can be obtained from the Centre, "ground truthing", or direct verification, is being carried out rapidly by the Agriculture Department in 38 villages.

Suresh Lad, a Mahad farmer who has suffered losses, said that if there is no grain even after harvesting, there is no way to meet the cost of harvesting. He said there is also no hope of getting straw for livestock. "So we do not want token help on last year's norms. The government should look at our actual loss and compensate us," he said.

For the survey, farmers have given the administration copies of their land records, Farmer ID and bank passbook details. The survey orders were issued under a circular of the Relief and Rehabilitation Department dated October 28, 2026. The ground-truthing report could ease the way to assistance from the Centre as well as the state government.

The farmers have three demands. First, that the actual crop loss be assessed and proper compensation paid instead of a small sum. Second, that with the question of fodder for livestock, along with grain, having become serious, a special financial package be announced. Third, that since the loss to the fields is total, the cost of harvesting be waived or borne by the government.