An 11-member central inter-ministerial group started its Maharashtra tour on Thursday to assess the drought situation. The teams will visit various districts over four days to verify crop losses and fodder scarcity. They will meet state officials on Sunday to discuss the findings before deciding on the requested financial assistance.
An 11-member central inter-ministerial group started its Maharashtra tour on Thursday to assess the drought situation. Divided into three teams, they will visit Western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha for the next four days. The group will meet representatives of the state government in Mumbai on the last day.
The first team will visit districts including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed and Jalna, the second Ahilyanagar, Solapur and Pune, and the third Nagpur and Yavatmal.
The group began touring the state a day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met Union home minister Amit Shah and requested him for interim ₹17,500 crore financial assistance. “The group will conduct ground inspections and verify the situation. Its report will be submitted to the NDRF [National Disaster Response Force], which will consider the findings along with the state government’s proposal before deciding on assistance,” he said after meeting Shah.
The state government has submitted a demand for interim relief of ₹13,000 crore for the crop losses and ₹4,500 crore for fodder management amid scarcity.
Maharashtra has announced drought across 265 of its total 358 talukas (74%). Fadnavis said 80% of the state is facing drought across 32 districts.
An official said the central inter-ministerial group is expected to hold a meeting with state officials to discuss the drought and the relief package on Sunday.