Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday stated that he has asked the Centre to provide drinking water, food and fodder for the drought-affected areas in the state, adding that the government has assured all help in this regard.
"Our memorandum has 24,700 villages which are drought-affected. We have asked for drinking water, food and fodder to be provided via the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) so that we can provide them to farmers at subsidized rates in lieu of this year's poor harvest," Fadnavis told the media here.
"A team sent by the Centre has agreed to include our demands in the memorandum. We have full faith that additional memorandum will be put in front of a high power committee immediately," he added.
According to reports, the Maharashtra Government has recently announced Rs. 7,000 crore as relief for the drought-affected Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of the state.
Reports further state that Fadnavis has also pledged to make Maharashtra 'drought free' and has vowed to liberate farmers from the bondage of private moneylenders.