Surcharge to fight drought

With no aid from Centre, Maha has to make its own provision to help Marathwada

The Maharashtra government is planning to levy a surcharge on the public to fight drought in Marathwada region. The decision was taken at the Cabinet sub-committee meeting held in Mantralaya on Tuesday to review the drought situation in the state. Fearing another year of drought in Marathwada region, the state government is going to seek financial assistance from the people to support the region.

“We are planning to levy a surcharge on the people to help drought-hit Marathwada. The issue was discussed in today’s Cabinet sub-committee meeting and we will soon finalise a way to implement it. We are appealing to the citizens to help the people in Marathwada, as the situation over there is really bad,” finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said after attending the sub-committee meeting. The meeting was headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and attended by agriculture minister Eknath Khadse and rural development minister Pankaja Munde.

A team from the Centre is visiting the region to take stock of the situation. However, sources in the state government said the Centre has not yet given the financial aid that was requested the last time and hence the state has to make its own provision to help the drought-affected people in Marathwada.

The region is left with only seven per cent water stock, which will not last for more than two months. The government is also mulling over supplying water to the region via railways. “Osmanabad, Latur and Beed are the worst affected areas. The districts are facing severe water scarcity. We are considering sending water in the districts via railways. Latur can be supplied water through Ujani dam by train racks,” Mr Khadse said.

At present, 1,751 tankers are supplying water to 1,340 villages and 2,362 hamlets. During the same period last year, the number of tankers supplying the water was 1,556. The government has made installation of GPS system a must for tankers to prevent malfunctioning, the agriculture minister added.

The government has also assured that a fodder depot would be started in the drought-hit areas, as there is insufficient food or green grass for cattle. “We have instructed that green grass be grown on government land like agriculture universities, which will be useful throughout the year. We are also trying to get cheap fodder from neighbouring states,” Mr Khadse said.

Despite no impressive results of cloud seeding, the government has decided to continue it for about 90 days. “Some parts of the Beed received six millimetres of rainfall. It is not sufficient for the farming but will help in growing grass and supply drinking water,” Mr Khadse said.