Mumbai: In the wake of heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, Congress has demanded wet drought be declared in the state. The government should declare an immediate aid of Rs 50,000 per hectare for farmers, said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal.
“The state has received excessive rainfall this year compared to the normal rainfall. Out of 36 districts and 358 talukas, 30 districts and about 300 talukas are affected by heavy rain and floods. About 143 lakh hectares of crops across the state have been damaged. The farmers are in distress but the Mahayuti government in the state is not concerned about them. The government should wake up from its slumber and immediately give Rs 50,000 per hectare to farmers and Rs five lakh per hectare to those whose agricultural land has been destroyed,” said Sapkal.
Several parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha as well as Solapur, Ahilyanagar districts have been flooded, due to which farmers have suffered huge losses. Particularly, the situation in Marathwada is very bad. The rains have caused havoc with crops, land, livestock, household goods have all been washed away, he added.
Accusing the government of delaying the help, Sapkal said, “When there is such a huge loss, how can you do Panchnama? First give help, then complete the paperwork.” He also asked what happened to the promise of loan waiver to farmers during the election campaign.
Another senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar demanded that people and animals should be immediately moved to safer places on the backdrop of a warning that the rain intensity will increase further this week. Additional NDRF teams should be deployed if necessary, he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray also demanded that the Centre announce an assistance package of Rs 10,000 crore for Marathwada, where rains have wreaked havoc, damaging houses and crops over the last few days.
“Time should not be wasted in procedures like panchanama (spot assessment of damage) and studying rules pertaining to ex-gratia. After the compensation is deposited into the bank accounts of affected persons, banks should not deduct loan installments from the sum, and instructions to this effect should be issued,” Thackeray said.
However, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis urged the Opposition not to play politics on the issue. “People don’t expect politics during such a crisis. We are doing all that is needed to help people and farmers,” he said.
