The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced a compensation package of Rs 31,628 crore for farmers who suffered massive losses due to rains and floods, asserting that the total assistance will be Rs 48,000 per hectare.
The government will announce a loan waiver in due course, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, adding that a comprehensive memorandum on the losses suffered by farmers was being prepared for submission to the Centre.
Opposition parties have dubbed the relief package “hollow” and “too meagre” to help agriculturists rebuild their lives, and demanded a more “robust” assistance as well as a concrete rehabilitation plan.
“This is a comprehensive compensation package of Rs 31,628 crore for farmers who suffered massive losses in recent rains and floods.
“This package represents an unprecedented effort by the state government to stand firmly with every affected citizen and farmer in this time of crisis,” Fadnavis said while addressing a press conference after chairing a cabinet meeting, flanked by his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.
The government will provide Rs 47,000 in cash and Rs 3 lakh through aid under the Employment Guarantee Scheme for every hectare of farmland damaged by floods, he said.
The package includes compensation for crop losses, life and property, soil erosion, direct financial support to farmers, concessions generally extended in drought-like conditions, hospitalisation expenses, ex-gratia, damage to houses, shops, and cattle sheds.
“The government will announce a loan waiver in due course, but the priority at the moment was to help farmers stand on their feet again,” the chief minister said.
Notably, opposition parties have been demanding a loan waiver for farmers in Maharashtra.
As many as 29 out of 36 districts and 253 (out of 358) talukas suffered due to the heavy rains, the chief minister said.
While sowing had taken place over a total of 1.43 lakh hectares at the start of the monsoon, crops over 68 lakh hectares of land were damaged, Fadnavis said, adding that as much as 60,000 hectares of farmland were damaged due to the top layer of soil getting washed away.
Additionally, Rs 10,000 per hectare and Rs 30,000 per damaged well will be given to all affected farmers, the chief minister said.
The government’s priority was to strengthen farmers so that they are ready for the coming rabi season, he said, adding that the compensation will be transferred to farmers’ bank accounts directly.
He said 45 lakh famers, who have crop insurance, will get Rs 17,000 per hectare in insurance money.
Total assistance for affected farmers will be Rs 48,000 per hectare. The crop insurance payout (estimated) is Rs 5,000 crore.
Additionally, Rs 1,500 crore will be reserved under the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) for immediate relief efforts.
The kin of persons killed in rain-related incidents will get Rs 4 lakh each, while the injured persons will be given amounts ranging from Rs 74,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh.
The package also provides a Rs 5,000 aid per family whose household utensils and goods are damaged, and Rs 5,000 for damage caused to clothes and personal items. Small shop owners and street vendors will get Rs 50,000.
Fully damaged pucca houses in hilly areas will get Rs 1,20,000, while kutchha houses in hilly regions will get Rs 1,30,000. The financial assistance for partially damaged houses is Rs 6,500, and Rs 8,000 and Rs 3,000, respectively, for huts and cattle sheds.
As to the loss of livestock, farmers will receive Rs 37,500 per animal for milch animals, Rs 32,000 for drought animals, and Rs 100 per bird.
“The government will extend assistance beyond the NDRF norms, increasing the limit from 2 hectares to 3 hectares. An additional Rs 10,000 crore will be provided to ensure that aid is transferred directly into farmers’ bank accounts”, Fadnavis added.
The chief minister also announced a series of relief measures usually implemented in drought-hit areas, which will now be extended to flood-affected regions.
Measures such as land revenue waiver, restructuring of crop loans, suspension of agricultural loan recovery, and waiver of electricity dues have already been announced.
The chief minister stated that school and college examination fees for children of farmers will be waived, MGNREGA work conditions will be relaxed, and there will be no disconnection of power supply to agricultural pumps.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s claim that loan waiver had been given when Thackeray was chief minister, Fadnavis said crop loans were waived during his (Fadnavis’s) first term in office (2014 to 2019).
The Thackeray government did not fulfill its assurance of assistance to farmers who repaid their loans regularly, and it was Eknath Shinde who did it when he was chief minister, Fadnavis said.
Shinde said farmers should not lose hope, and the government will ensure that they do not face a “dark Diwali”.
“Farmers will get aid notwithstanding a financial crunch”, he said, adding, “We met (Union minister) Amit Shah and sought Central assistance”.
Slamming the package, the Congress said the flood relief amount was nothing but a mockery of farmers’ suffering. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) described it as a “blueprint for deception” that rubs salt into cultivators’ wounds as it will “push them further into the trap of debt”.
Heavy rainfall and floods in September severely affected Marathwada and adjoining regions, destroying crops on 68.69 lakh hectares across the state.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
