Saturday 21 November 2015

20th NOV 2015 MAHARASHTRA 14708 VILLAGES DROUGHT HIT

Maharashtra declares drought in 14,708 villages

, TNN | Oct 17, 2015, 04.47AM IST
drought
(Representative image)
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has declared a "drought-like condition" in 14,708 of the state's 43,000 villages. This means the drought covers 34% of the state.

This is the second successive year of drought in Maharashtra. In fact, the state has experienced three such calamities in the last four years.

The region of Marathwada has been worst-hit, with a drought-like condition declared in every single village. As many as 8,522 villages in the region have been impacted. This accounts for 58% of the drought area in the state.

North Maharashtra, which includes Nashik and Jalgaon districts, follows next with 4,869 villages impacted. This accounts for 33% of the drought area. The region of Konkan has been spared, with not a single village affected by the calamity. The Konkan region experienced a plentiful monsoon this year.

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"We have declared a drought-like condition earlier than usual. It is usually declared in December after a final assessment of crop loss," said state revenue minister Eknath Khadse, responding to the opposition's criticism that the state was not taking the crisis seriously.

The state can declare a drought-like condition only after an assessment of crop yield. Villages where the harvest is less than half the average yield come under this category.

The government has announced a series of measures for drought-affected farmers, including the waiver of land revenue and school fees for their children and a 33% waiver in the bill amount of agricultural pumps. The government has also said it will provide water tankers in scarcity-prone villages and take steps not to disconnect agricultural pumps.

So far, Rs 920 crore has been provided for drought relief, of which Rs 556 crore has come from the Centre. Another Rs 556 crore is expected from the government, officials said.

Read this story in Marathi: राज्यात १४७०८ गावांमध्ये दुष्काळ घोषित
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    For Maharashtra's Drought-Hit Farmers, Rs. 400 Crores From Aam Aadmi

    All India | Written by Tejas Mehta | Updated: October 03, 2015 07:18 IST
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    For Maharashtra's Drought-Hit Farmers, Rs 400 Crores From Aam Aadmi
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    In July this year, on his birthday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urged citizens to financially help his government resolve the drought situation in Maharashtra. (Agence France-Presse photo)
    MUMBAI:  In a country where income tax collections have historically been low is it possible that the people themselves would willingly loosen their purse strings?

    A whopping Rs. 400 crores - that's how much Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' office said people have willingly donated to the Maharashtra government's ambitious project Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan to make the 25,000 villages in the state drought-free by 2019.

    This came after the state was hit by the Rs. 70,000 crore-irrigation scam in the previous regime led by the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party.

    In July this year, on his birthday, Mr Fadnavis urged citizens to financially help his government resolve the drought situation in Maharashtra.

    And then there was no stopping, the government says. From villagers to farmers to government employees to Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar to cricketer Ajinkya Rahane to spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar - it has been an enthusiastic surge of contributions.

    And the benefits are being distributed remarkable transparency, claims Kishor Tiwari an activist  who is now chairman of the Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission - a government body which oversees the distribution of relief to distressed farmers.

    "The difference is that there has been a policy shift from big dams of the Congress-NCP government to micro-irrigation projects which are de-centralised. Most importantly, there is very little corruption," he claimed.

    The government said that work had started in 6,180 villages in the first phase and 1,20,485 small projects were completed. In nearly 3,000 villages, work worth about Rs.300 crores were done through people's participation which includes contribution of machinery.

    Maharashtra's farmer suicide belt extends from Vidarbha to the Marathwada region. In the latter alone, this year 740 farmers have killed themselves hit by the agrarian crisis as compared to 574 who committed suicide in 2014.

    Though the impact of the scheme couldn't be seen as much this year as it has hardly rained, when the skies opened up two weeks ago, farm ponds and canals were immediately filled to the brim.
    Story First Published: October 02, 2015 17:24 IST
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