 "Govt okays Rs 2,892 cr relief for seven states")
It has also decided to immediately send a team of senior officials to Kerala to assess the impact of low rains. Addressing reporters after the eGoM meeting, Pawar said that said Rs 1,207.84 crore has been approved for Maharashtra, Rs 864.71 crore for Gujarat and Rs 66.61 crore for Kerala to tackle drought. Apart from this, another Rs 54.49 crore relief package has been approved for Kerala that suffered floods last year.
Besides, this Rs 417.12 crore has been approved for Andhra Pradesh in the wake of cyclone Nilam, Rs 115.32 crore for Himachal Pradesh, Rs 93.76 crore for Sikkim and Rs 72.76 crore for Uttarkhand due to cloud burst, floods and landslides. “The relief package, to be released under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), will be implemented from March 1, 2013,” Pawar said.
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The drought situation in Maharashtra is the worst seen in the last 40 years, Pawar said, adding that the EGoM has taken additional measures to help farmers tide over the situation. This would be over and above the relief package of Rs 1,207.84 crore approved for the state. Of the total Rs 1,207.84 crore approved for Maharashtra, Pawar said Rs 807.84 crore will be released under the NDRF to protect rabi crops, while Rs 400 crore will be sanctioned under the National Horticulture Mission to save orchard crops.
Farmers having orchards of up to 2 hectare will get assistance of up to Rs 30,000 per hectare under the mission. To protect small and marginal farmers in drought-hit areas of the state, Pawar said EGoM has raised input subsidy in rainfed areas to Rs 4,500 per hectare, from Rs 3,000 per hectare, while in irrigated areas it has been increased to Rs 9,000 per hectare from Rs 6,000 per hectare.
For perennial crops, the subsidy has been increased to 12,000 per hectare from 8,000 per hectare, he said, adding that the farmers, who have incurred more than 50 per cent crop loss in the area up to two hectare, will be eligible for this. To protect 4.55 lakh cattle in the states, the minister said that camps are being organised. The EGoM has approved raising the amount of money given to farmers to take care of cattle to Rs 50 for big animal and Rs 25 for small animal
Currently, the Centre gives Rs 32 for big animal and Rs 16 for small cattle, he said, adding that cattle camps have also been extended for three months till May. "If the state wants to extend the cattle camp till June- July, the state government can submit the proposal and we will consider it sympathetically," Pawar said.
He also mentioned that the state faced drought situation on many occasions but never had faced shortage of water like this year. He blamed pending irrigation projects for aggravated water shortage in the state.
"Previously, we were facing the problem of shortage of foodgrains but never faced shortage of water. Today, there is severe shortage of water. There are many villages where water is available once in eight days. Some towns get water once in ten days," he said.
"Out of 254 minor reservoirs, 157 have reached to zero level. So the real problem is drinking water. Basically, number of irrigation projects is pending. One has to provide money. There are some problems in the state. The percentage of irrigation in Vidarbha is less as compared to other parts. Allocation to irrigation projects is decided by the Governor and not Chief Minister," he said.
However to ensure drinking water, the state government has taken decision not to release water for any crops. Water has been reserved exclusively for drinking purpose, he added.
The minister also said that sugarcane area in the state would be lower as sizeable crop has been diverted as fodder to save livestock.
The worst- affected districts in Maharashtra are Solapur, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Pune, Satara, Beed and Nashik. The situation is also serious in Buldhana, Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Aurangabad, Jalna, Jalgaon and Dhule districts, an official said. The Maharashtra government had demanded a relief package of Rs 1,801 crore under the National Disaster Relief Fund