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An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on drought headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today approved Rs 1,207 crore relief package to Maharashtra.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of empowered group of ministers on drought, Pawar said that assistance for organising cattle camps to save an almost 4.5 lakh small and big animals has also been increased.
Out of the total amount, Rs 807 crore will be released under the National Disaster Relief Fund to 3,905 villages in the state where drought has affected rabi crops, sources said.
The rest Rs 400 crore will be released under the National Horticulture Mission to 1,100 villages where drought has hit kharif crops, they said.
At the meeting the EGoM approved relief package of Rs 2,892.61 crore for six states to tackle drought, floods and landslides, Pawar said.
Almost 34 districts in Maharashtra have been affected from severe drought because of three consecutive monsoon failures.
The worst- affected 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.
Some districts in the state are facing acute shortage of fodder and drinking water problem. Drinking water is being supplied through tankers in most affected villages, the official added.
The Maharashtra government had demanded a relief package of Rs 1,801 crore under the National Disaster Relief Fund, but the central team after assessing the situation recommended Rs 872 crore.
Last year, Rs 778 crore was approved to the state under this fund to mitigate losses to crop.
Pawar said that a proposal has also been received from Kerala for drought assistance and a high level central team will soon visit the state to assess the ground situation.
