Maharashtra’s drought relief response is facing pressure from farmer activists and opposition parties, who have urged the state government to release assistance immediately instead of waiting until Diwali in the first week of November.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the government is confident of providing monetary relief to affected farmers before Diwali. He said more than 23,000 villages had already been surveyed and that the remaining villages were being covered on a war footing so that a detailed report could be sent to the Centre for assistance under the National Disaster Relief Fund.
The state’s relief request is expected to follow an assessment by a Central team, which is likely to arrive in Maharashtra within a couple of days to review the drought situation. The relief package is expected to be announced after the team submits its report.
Farmer activists have said the proposed timeline does not reflect the urgency of the situation in drought-affected areas. Jayaji Suryavanshi, a farmers’ activist from the drought-struck Marathwada region, said farmers had already lost their kharif produce and that many no longer had savings to manage the current period.
“Before they think of taking some drastic step, govt should provide them with some aid at least, even if it is temporary,” Suryavanshi said.
The dispute centres on whether relief should wait for the completion of the Centre’s assessment or be released by the state as an immediate interim measure. The government has not specified the amount of compensation it plans to provide, according to the report.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said waiting until Diwali could leave farmers without support during a period of worsening financial distress. He said the government should announce compensation at the earliest rather than leave affected farmers to cope without clarity on the amount or timing of assistance.
“If govt waits till Diwali to release compensation, it will be too late for many farmers, who are struggling to cope with drought conditions,” Sapkal said.
Activists have also questioned what measures will operate before any package from the Centre is released. Ajit Navale, another farmers’ activist, said the state should announce concrete measures after declaring the drought and could consider a complete loan waiver as an interim form of relief.
Farmers’ activists have threatened to organise a statewide protest if urgent measures are not announced. The immediate administrative milestones are the completion of the remaining village surveys, the Central team’s visit and the submission of the state’s drought assessment report for consideration under the National Disaster Relief Fund.
