Maha govt announces Rs 10,000 cr aid for rain-affected farmers

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced an assistance of Rs 10,000 crore for farmers whose crops were damaged due to heavy rains in the state.

State Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who holds charge of the finance department, and PWD Minister Ashok Chavan made the announcement jointly here in Mumbai.

Agricultural crops on over 55 lakh hectares of land have been damaged due to the extremely heavy rainfall between June and October this year. To provide some assistance to farmers, the Maharashtra government has decided to give financial assistance of Rs 10,000 crore to the affected farmers, the government said in a statement.

 

Farmers who have lost their crops due to extremely heavy rains will get compensated, it said.

Irrespective of their land size, farmers will get a compensation for damage of crops on up to two hectares of land, the statement said.

The state government has decided not to wait for any further instructions with regard to the NDRF (National Disaster Relief Fund) for aid disbursement, the statement said.

For the damage of crops on non-irrigated land, farmers will get Rs 10,000 per hectare, while for crop damage on irrigated land, they will get Rs 15,000 per hectare.

For multi-year crops, including those which fall under horticulture, the affected farmers will get Rs 25,000 per hectare, said the statement.