The Maharashtra government on Saturday declared 265 of the state’s 358 talukas drought-affected, announcing a slew of relief measures, including crop loan restructuring, land revenue concessions, and power bill subsidies.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed district collectors to initiate crop-damage assessments immediately and assured that farmers remain the centre of the government’s relief efforts in the drought situation.
According to a government resolution issued late on Friday, 265 talukas spread across 32 districts cover 74 per cent of the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said the actual financial assistance to farmers will be decided after the ground-level assessment.
The state government has activated ‘Trigger-1’ under the Drought Management Code 2016 (updated in 2020) to declare drought conditions and initiate relief.