Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised expanded drought relief for farmers, including a complete waiver of agricultural electricity bills estimated to cost the state Rs58,000 crore, during a Diwali visit to drought-hit Narkhed in Nagpur district.
Fadnavis made the announcement while meeting farmers at Lohari Sawanga village, where he stayed at the home of farmer Rambhau Balpande and discussed the financial and water-related pressures facing cultivators. The chief minister said the state government was committed to supporting farmers through financial assistance, agricultural infrastructure and water-conservation measures.
Farmers in the area told him that inadequate irrigation, low water availability, rising cultivation costs, crop losses and difficulties in repaying loans had worsened their financial distress after a poor monsoon. Fadnavis also discussed the difficulties faced by orange and sweet lime growers in the Katol-Narkhed belt, who have suffered losses following restrictions on imports by Bangladesh.
The chief minister said a major project coming up at Mihan would create opportunities for processing oranges and sweet limes and provide farmers with an alternative market. The report did not specify the project’s investment, processing capacity or completion schedule.
Fadnavis said loan-waiver benefits had already been deposited into the accounts of 21 lakh farmers, while the government was working to extend the benefit to nearly 55 lakh farmers. An advance assistance amount of Rs5,000 had also been deposited into the accounts of around 1.5 crore farmers, he said. Drought-related financial assistance would be disbursed soon, according to the chief minister.
He attributed the current agricultural distress to reduced rainfall and adverse weather conditions. Soyabean crops had failed to develop pods, while cotton and other crops had suffered significant losses, he said. Several areas were also facing shortages of drinking water and cattle fodder.
The proposed power-bill waiver is part of a wider set of measures outlined during the interaction. Fadnavis said the government would undertake water-conservation works before the next monsoon, including repairs to old lakes and check dams and construction of new water-conservation structures. The state would also improve farm access roads under its pandan road scheme and allow irrigation wells to be dug wherever feasible.
The measures place water storage and rural connectivity alongside direct financial relief. For drought-affected villages, the effectiveness of the response will depend on when the promised works begin, how projects are selected and how assistance reaches households facing crop, drinking-water and fodder shortages. The report did not provide village-wise allocations or implementation timelines for the proposed infrastructure works.
Fadnavis also said health camps would be organised and that surgeries and other medical interventions would be facilitated in different locations so that residents did not face difficulties because of a lack of money. He appealed to villagers to confront the crisis collectively and said further initiatives would be announced for farmers and rural communities.
The chief minister was accompanied by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MLAs Charansingh Thakur and Ashish Deshmukh, MLC Rajiv Potdar, Nagpur district collector Kumar Ashirwad and Zilla Parishad chief executive officer Vinayak Mahamuni. The government’s next stated priority is to begin drought-related assistance and complete water-conservation preparations before the arrival of the next monsoon.
