Maharashtra declares 265 of 358 talukas drought-hit, farmers to get relief

The Maharashtra government has officially declared 265 of the state's 358 talukas as drought-affected. This means nearly 75 percent of Maharashtra will now be counted as a drought-hit area, an indication of how severe the situation is this time.

There had been a long-standing demand across the state for drought to be declared. Following this growing demand, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with both deputy chief ministers and some senior opposition leaders, visited the drought-affected areas. The opposition then demanded that drought be declared and farmers given immediate help. After these developments, 265 talukas in the state were declared drought-affected this morning.

After surveying areas facing drought-like conditions, talukas from different districts were included in the drought-affected list. These include talukas from the Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur divisions. Farmers can now check whether their taluka is on the list released by the government.

In the Pune division, Pune district's Haveli, Mulshi, Bhor, Maval, Junnar and Ambegaon talukas, 6 in all, are included. Sangli has 6 talukas: Shirala, Walwa, Tasgaon, Khanapur, Palus and Kadegaon. Satara has 5: Karad, Wai, Koregaon, Patan and Jawali. Kolhapur has 6: Karvir, Kagal, Shirol, Hatkanangale, Gaganbawada and Shahuwadi.

In the Konkan division, Thane district has 7 talukas: Thane, Kalyan, Ambernath, Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Ulhasnagar and Murbad. Palghar district has 8: Palghar, Vasai, Wada, Jawhar, Mokhada, Dahanu, Talasari and Vikramgad. Raigad district has the most, 14 talukas: Alibag, Panvel, Pen, Karjat, Khalapur, Uran, Sudhagad, Mangaon, Roha, Murud, Mhasla, Mahad, Poladpur and Tala. Ratnagiri has 6: Mandangad, Dapoli, Khed, Chiplun, Guhagar and Lanja, while all 8 talukas of Sindhudurg district are on the drought list. Mumbai suburban's Andheri, Borivali and Kurla, 3 administrative talukas, are also included.

In the Nashik division, Nashik district has 5 talukas: Nashik, Chandwad, Niphad, Trimbakeshwar and Dindori, while all talukas of Dhule, Jalgaon, Nandurbar and Ahilyanagar districts are on the list, numbering 4, 15, 6 and 14 respectively. All 11 talukas of Solapur district are also included.

In the Nagpur division, Wardha district's Karanja taluka is included. Bhandara district has 4 talukas: Sakoli, Tumsar, Mohadi and Lakhani. Gondia district has 7: Gondia, Arjuni-Morgaon, Amgaon, Sadak-Arjuni, Salekasa, Goregaon and Deori. Chandrapur district has 4: Bhadravati, Rajura, Ballarpur and Jiwati, while Gadchiroli district has the most, 10 talukas: Aheri, Armori, Sironcha, Etapalli, Korchi, Kurkheda, Dhanora, Desaiganj (Wadsa), Bhamragad and Mulchera.

In the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, several talukas of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv and Hingoli districts have also been included in the drought-affected area. According to information received, Nanded district's Mahur and Dharmabad talukas, 2 in all, are on the list, while Basmath taluka of Parbhani district has also been included.

Following the drought declaration, the government will now implement various drought relief schemes in these areas. This will give farmers in the affected areas the benefit of government facilities, loan restructuring and other drought relief measures.