Centre to send team to Maharashtra after Oct 3 to assess drought

The state government has issued a notification declaring drought in Maharashtra, and a relief package related to it is expected to be announced soon. Amid this, all eyes were on what steps the central government would take. An important update has now emerged: a central team is set to visit the state next month to assess the drought situation in Maharashtra.

Insufficient rainfall in many parts of the state had forced farmers to resow their crops. Even after resowing, the rain failed again, and crops in the fields dried up. Taking stock of this situation, the state government declared a dry drought in Maharashtra just two days ago. A relief package for farmers is expected to be announced soon. The central government has now also taken note of the drought in the state.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has sought information on the drought situation in Maharashtra. A central team is set to tour the state after October 3. Notably, the agriculture minister himself will tour the state along with senior officials. This will give farmers the opportunity to raise their grievances directly with the agriculture minister at the edge of their fields. Since the central team will visit the fields in person to assess the damage, farmers will be able to put their case across directly.

When the central team arrives in the state, farmers will be expecting substantial assistance from the Centre. Having lost their crop to the rain at the last moment, farmers are now looking to the central and state governments for help. It remains to be seen exactly what kind of assistance the central government provides.

Meanwhile, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that nearly two-thirds of Maharashtra is in the grip of drought, and that the central government is serious about the situation in the state. Given the drought conditions, financial assistance from the Centre is expected.

On the other hand, the opposition has not accepted the notification issued by the state government. The opposition believes several aspects of the notification need to be amended. They have also repeatedly said that facilities already available to farmers have simply been restated in the notification.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar has written to the chief minister with 17 demands. Pawar has also demanded that a special three-day session be convened.