Mungantiwar seeks Rs 20,000 per hectare paddy bonus from CM Fadnavis for two kharif seasons

MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding a bonus of Rs 20,000 per hectare for paddy-growing farmers. According to the memorandum, the demand covers both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 kharif seasons. Mungantiwar met the Chief Minister in Mumbai on November 9.

It is stated that at the meeting, held at the Varsha official residence in Mumbai, Fadnavis directed the Principal Secretary of the Agriculture Department to take action. Mungantiwar once again pressed the paddy bonus issue on the occasion.

In the memorandum, Mungantiwar said drought conditions in the state have upset farmers' finances. According to him, irregular rainfall, a long dry spell, damage to crop growth and falling yields due to water shortage have hit farm incomes hard. The cost of seed, fertiliser, pesticides, labour, diesel and irrigation keeps rising, while the weather has left no assurance of the expected yield. Farmers face obligations such as loan instalments, children's education, household expenses and money for sowing the next season.

Mungantiwar wrote that the entire economy of paddy farmers in eastern Vidarbha, including Chandrapur, rests on this crop. Paddy farming is not merely a source of earning but the livelihood of thousands of families, he said. He said the income farmers get falls short of rising costs. A bonus of Rs 20,000 per hectare could give farmers major support, and given the severity of the drought, the government should decide on the demand immediately, he said.

The memorandum also says the government has generally announced the paddy bonus decision in March. However, the bonus for the 2025-26 kharif season has not been announced so far. The 2026-27 kharif season is now also nearing its end, and there is no clear decision on the previous season's bonus. This has caused confusion and resentment among farmers. While they still wait for one season's bonus, the cost of cultivating the next season has arrived. For this reason, Mungantiwar has demanded separate bonus announcements for both seasons.

Mungantiwar has earlier raised the issue in the Assembly through a calling-attention notice. It is stated that he has also pursued the demand through direct meetings at the Vidhan Bhavan, discussions with the ministers concerned, memorandums and continued correspondence.

Mungantiwar said paddy farmers are today drawing the government's attention to their just demand through agitation. According to him, it is a matter of concern that farmers have to take to the streets for financial help. He said the government should understand farmers' difficulties before it comes to an agitation. In his view, it is the government's important responsibility to stand with farmers in times of drought, consider their production costs and take a firm decision to give them financial stability.

Mungantiwar reiterated the demand that a bonus of Rs 20,000 per hectare for each season be announced for both kharif seasons, so that justice is done to farmers' labour.