Rohit Pawar warns of blockade on Samruddhi highway over drought relief delay

Rohit Pawar, MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction, on Monday criticised the state government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He alleged that even though drought has been declared in many talukas across the state, financial assistance to drought-hit farmers and farm labourers is being delayed.

Pawar warned that if adequate measures and disbursal of financial aid are not officially in place by October 12, party workers will block traffic on the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway along with drought-affected farmers and farm labourers. In other words, the party's position is that if the government does not announce relief within the set deadline, an agitation will be launched on the road.

Pawar also said that if a financial package for farmers is not announced at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, a statewide agitation will be launched on the highway. He made clear that this agitation would not be limited to a single day but would continue on the Samruddhi Mahamarg from October 12 to October 15. That means, once the deadline passes, the agitation would continue for four straight days.

According to Rohit Pawar, farmers across the state have suffered losses of more than Rs 35,900 crore in total. Of this, farmers in Vidarbha alone have suffered losses of Rs 22,400 crore. He said this means a large share of the state's total losses is borne by farmers in Vidarbha.

Pawar also criticised the state government's list of drought-hit talukas. Citing figures from the central government's website, he alleged that the state government is understating the number of drought-affected talukas.

Speaking about discrepancies in the list, Pawar said talukas that had received fairly good rainfall had been included in the drought-hit list, while talukas with low rainfall, such as Nashik, Jamkhed and his own constituency of Karjat-Jamkhed, had not been included at all. In short, he claimed that low-rainfall talukas had been left out of the list while high-rainfall talukas had been included.

Pawar demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis avoid prolonged administrative delays and complicated eligibility conditions. He also demanded that financial assistance be provided promptly and on a wide scale.

Pawar demanded that wages be paid under the Vikasit Bharat Rojgar and Aajeevika Mission, Rural (VB-G RAM G) before Diwali, and that full compensation be given for losses caused by soil erosion. He also demanded that priority be given to immediate per-hectare financial assistance for affected farmers and direct financial grants and emergency agricultural assistance for landless farm labourers. He also called for fiscal discipline to be maintained in long-term development spending.