No immediate drought aid for farmers, decision only after full report: Bawankule

The state government has declared drought in 75 percent of Maharashtra and formed a sub-committee headed by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule to tackle it. This had raised expectations of quick financial help for farmers, but Bawankule has made clear that this will not happen immediately. Speaking to media in Yavatmal, he said aid would not be given to farmers until the complete report is in, otherwise farmers themselves could end up losing out.

Bawankule said the government is trying to ensure that not a single farmer is left out of drought relief. Aid is given only after assessing ground conditions during the panchnama process and calculating the state's average losses. According to him, help cannot be announced on the same day, because crop panchnamas have to be completed and the situation on the ground has to be examined. Separate assistance scales have been fixed for tur, cotton, soyabean, turmeric, horticulture and oranges. He said someone had suggested announcing aid immediately, but he had responded by asking what would happen if that ended up hurting farmers, so the approach would only be decided after the full report comes in. He clarified that aid is given on the basis of panchnamas, and the chief minister will announce it soon.

Bawankule said accurate panchnamas are essential to get assistance from the NDRF, and only then can farmers receive the correct aid. The cabinet sub-committee will prepare a detailed picture of the exact drought situation, and the sub-committee will meet every Tuesday to review the drought situation.

Taking aim at the opposition, he said the politics being played over the drought is wrong. The drought is hurting both farmers and farm laborers, so everyone should understand its seriousness together and contribute to relief funds at their own level. He said farmers have the first claim on the government, so panchnamas must be accurate, and added that his tours of the affected areas are continuing.

On electricity, he said clear orders have been given to Mahavitaran to supply power to farmers for 12 hours, since access to electricity would let farmers irrigate using available water stocks. If power is not being supplied, the matter will be discussed at the cabinet sub-committee's meeting.

On Sharad Pawar writing to the chief minister about the drought, Bawankule said writing letters is the opposition's job, but the government is not withholding help from farmers because of Pawar's letter. He said several legislators have also sent similar letters, leaders from all three parties have written in, and more than 2000 letters have been received so far. The chief minister himself visited farmers' fields and has taken a decision. He also clarified that talukas left out of the drought list will be studied.

Reacting to the Thackeray brothers' march, Bawankule said the Election Commission has already clarified the matter, and some people simply want to do politics. He said suspicion was first raised over EVMs, and now the SIR issue is being raised, even though there is nothing wrong in conducting the SIR. Accusing the opposition of lying, he said they do not work at the booth level, do not go around at the booth level, and only raise suspicions and level allegations, trying to win elections by spreading negativity, even though this approach does not win votes. He further said false propaganda was spread during the Lok Sabha elections that the Constitution would be changed, but people have now understood the truth, which is why the BJP got 51 percent votes in the assembly elections while the Congress party is now sitting idle. He said only the truth will prevail in this country, not lies.