Drought decision only in October, says relief minister

Farmers in Maharashtra are anxious after poor rainfall this year, and there has been a growing demand for the state government to declare drought immediately. But a statement from relief and rehabilitation minister Makarand Patil has deepened farmers' worries. Patil made clear that the decision on drought will be taken in October, making it unlikely that drought will be declared right away as the opposition has demanded.

Neighbouring Karnataka has declared drought and also called a special session of its assembly to address various farmer issues. Against the backdrop of Karnataka's move, there have been demands that Maharashtra too set aside its usual criteria and declare drought. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decision on declaring drought would be taken after October 5. Amid this, minister Patil assured that not a single farmer in any village affected this season would be denied assistance.

Giving details, Makarand Patil said the drought situation would be assessed, and that rainfall, vegetation index, sown area, soil moisture and groundwater levels would form the basis for this assessment. Socio-economic factors such as fodder availability, drinking water shortage, demand for employment and migration would also be considered. Patil further said the decision on declaring drought for the kharif season would be taken in October, while March 31 has been set as the deadline for the rabi season.

The relief and rehabilitation minister clarified that local authorities have been given the power to immediately start water tankers if a village faces drought-like water scarcity. A state-level drought monitoring committee headed by the agriculture commissioner is working on this, he said, and a district-level monitoring committee headed by the district collector is also functioning.

Meanwhile, the opposition has turned aggressive on the issue. Shiv Sena (Thackeray group) MLA Ambadas Danve has demanded that a session of the legislature be called. Danve said a large part of Maharashtra is suffering the effects of drought and that measures need to be taken urgently.