Thane district has not been included in Maharashtra’s newly announced list of 265 drought-affected talukas, meaning no taluka in the district has been formally classified as drought-hit for the current assessment of the kharif season.
The list was prepared after the state government reviewed kharif-season rainfall and other related conditions. According to a report by Loksatta – Thane, the assessment was based on a report submitted by the Agriculture Commissioner. Thane and Palghar districts have both been excluded from the list in its entirety.
The government has declared drought conditions in the 265 identified talukas and applied ‘Trigger-1’ under the state’s drought management code. District collectors have been directed to begin the process of conducting official panchnamas in the affected talukas without delay.
The trigger-based process is intended to establish the local impact of drought conditions and support the delivery of relief measures. The reported classification therefore determines where the state’s immediate drought-response measures will be activated, while areas outside the notified list will not receive those measures through this particular declaration.
For the affected talukas, the government has announced a set of concessions and support measures for farmers and residents. These include relief from land revenue, restructuring of crop loans, a suspension of recovery for agriculture-related loans, concessions on electricity bills for agricultural pumps and waivers of examination fees for students.
The directions also include increasing works under the employment guarantee scheme, arranging tanker water supply wherever required, ensuring that electricity connections to farmers’ agricultural pumps in drought-affected villages are not disconnected, and making foodgrains available to farmers and agricultural labourers.
The state has additionally instructed the administration to arrange fodder for livestock and begin water-conservation works in drought-affected villages. These measures place district and local administrations at the centre of implementation, with the collectorate responsible for initiating the immediate assessment and response process in notified areas.
For Thane, the exclusion means that none of its talukas has been covered by the latest drought declaration. The decision is based on the state’s review of rainfall and other conditions during the kharif season, as reported by Loksatta – Thane. The available report does not provide taluka-wise rainfall figures or explain whether any local water-supply interventions are being planned separately for Thane.
The next administrative step in the notified drought-affected talukas is the completion of panchnamas and implementation of the concessions and support measures announced by the state government.
