State sets five criteria to declare drought, kharif call due in October

The state government has now set out clear criteria and a procedure for declaring drought in Maharashtra. Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makarand Jadhav Patil shared the details. Drought will be determined based on the central government's revised Drought Management Code, 2026.

Drought conditions will be assessed on five scientific criteria: rainfall, vegetation index, area under sowing, soil moisture and groundwater level. Socio-economic factors such as fodder availability, drinking water shortage, demand for employment and migration will also be considered. If on-site surveys find crop loss of more than 33 percent, the village concerned will qualify to be declared drought-affected.

Three stages have been set for determining drought. In the first stage, mandatory rainfall-related indices will be checked. In the second stage, the severity of the drought will be assessed. In the third stage, an on-site survey and verification will be carried out in the fields.

The decision on whether to declare drought for the kharif season will be taken in October. For the rabi season, the deadline has been kept until March 31. In drought-affected villages facing drinking water shortage, local and regional authorities have been given powers to immediately start water tankers.

Committees monitoring drought are functioning at the state level under the chairmanship of the Commissioner of Agriculture, and at the district level under the chairmanship of the respective district collectors. The Revenue Department will review the kharif situation, after which recommendations will be placed before a cabinet meeting. The minister assured that affected farmers will not be denied assistance.

Meanwhile, in Parbhani district, the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana held a two-hour road blockade agitation at Manwat demanding that drought be declared and financial assistance given to farmers whose crops have dried up in the fields.

With rainfall having failed in many parts of the state, the opposition has been demanding that drought be declared immediately. Against this backdrop, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that formally declaring drought and starting drought-relief measures are two separate things. He said that under the criteria of the National Disaster Response Fund, or NDRF, certain procedures have to be completed before drought can be formally declared, and only then can assistance be sought from the Centre.

Fadnavis made clear that the government has already started emergency measures in areas where crops have been damaged due to lack of rain, and that the state government is not waiting for assistance from the Centre. He said the process of providing farmers the necessary assistance from state funds has already begun.