Maharashtra sets up weekly cabinet panel to review drought, Fadnavis assures relief

With drought-like conditions emerging in several parts of Maharashtra, the state government has set up a separate cabinet sub-committee that will review the situation every week and monitor relief and mitigation work in affected districts.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the decision on Tuesday. He said the government would act immediately according to ground conditions without waiting for help from the Centre.

The Chief Minister also directed municipal officials to make arrangements to tackle the growing water shortage in cities and ensure people get adequate drinking water.

The cabinet sub-committee has been formed under the leadership of Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and includes senior ministers. The committee will review the drought-like situation every week and monitor the implementation of measures in affected areas.

Major policy decisions on the drought will be taken by Chief Minister Fadnavis himself, but he will consult Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar on this.

Fadnavis said the state would seek help from the central government wherever needed, but decisions or relief work would not be delayed while waiting for that help. He said the government would keep assessing the situation continuously and respond accordingly.

Concern is growing in the state over damage to farming, water shortage and lack of rainfall. There has also been recent discussion around demands to formally declare drought and provide assistance to farmers.

Members of Parliament from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi have sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the drought issue. Responding to this, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Centre has always helped Maharashtra during droughts and farmer distress, so he has no objection to conveying the state's ground reality directly to the Prime Minister.

Bawankule said the real situation should reach Modi, and he is confident the Centre will respond positively to the state's needs.

Earlier, Cabinet Minister Pankaja Munde had said the state administration is taking steps to help farmers whose crops have been damaged and who are facing water shortage. Munde said the government is collecting reports from affected areas and will stand with farmers. She also referred to the Fadnavis government's decision on a loan waiver worth Rs 32,000 crore and the waiving of farmers' electricity bills.

Pankaja Munde said, "As a guardian minister and cabinet minister, we are very concerned about the water situation and the farmers' distress." She said the government is assessing the situation and will provide assistance to farmers.

The cabinet panel has been set up to monitor water availability, crop damage and other effects of the drought-like situation, and to coordinate relief work in the districts. The state government will continue collecting ground-level data before taking further relief decisions.