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An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today cleared a comprehensive package of Rs 2,893 crore for seven states to deal with the outcome of various natural calamities.
"Of this, Rs 1,208 crore has been approved for Maharashtra, Rs 865 crore for Gujarat and Rs 67 crore for Kerala to tackle drought. Apart from this, another Rs 54.5 crore relief package has been approved for Kerala, which suffered floods last year. Besides, Rs 417 crore has been approved for Andhra Pradesh in the wake of Cyclone Nilam, Rs 115 crore for Himachal Pradesh, Rs 94 crore for Sikkim and Rs 73 crore for Uttarakhand 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," Pawar told reporters after the EGoM meeting.
The government has also decided to send a team of officials to Kerala to assess the impact of low rain. The ongoing drought in Maharashtra is the worst in the past 40 years, said Pawar, adding the EGoM had taken additional measures to help farmers. This would be over and above the relief package of Rs 1,208 crore approved for the state. Of the latter amount, Pawar said Rs 808 crore would be released under the NDRF to protect rabi crops and Rs 400 crore will be sanctioned under the National Horticulture Mission to save orchard crops.
Farmers having orchards of up to two hectares will get assistance up to Rs 30,000 for each ha under the mission. To protect small and marginal farmers in drought-hit areas of the state, Pawar said the EGoM had raised input subsidy in rainfed areas to Rs 4,500 a ha, from Rs 3,000 a hectare; in irrigated areas, it has been increased to Rs 9,000 a ha from Rs 6,000 a ha. For perennial crops, the subsidy has been increased to 12,000 a ha from 8,000 a ha, he said, adding farmers who had incurred more than 50 per cent crop loss in areas up to two ha would be eligible for this.
To protect the 455,000 heads of cattle in the state, the minister said camps were being organised. The EGoM had approved raising the amount of money given to farmers to take care of cattle to Rs 50 each for big animals and Rs 25 each for smaller ones. Currently, the Centre gives Rs 32 for big animals and Rs 16 for small cattle, he said, adding the camps had also been extended for three months, till May. "If the state wants to extend the cattle camp till June-July, the government can submit the proposal and we will consider it sympathetically," he said.
Maharashtra had, said Pawar, faced drought-like situations on many occasions but never a shortage of water as in this year. He blamed pendency in irrigation projects for the aggravated water shortage.
"Previously, we were facing the problem of a shortage of foodgrains but had never faced a shortage of water. Today, there is a severe shortage of water. There are many villages where water is available once in eight days. Some towns get water once in 10 days," he said. "Of 254 minor reservoirs, 157 have reached zero level. So, the real problem is drinking water. Basically, a number of irrigation projects are pending. One has to provide money. There are some problems in the state. The percentage of irrigation in Vidarbha is less, compared to other parts; allocation to irrigation projects (there) is decided by the governor and not the chief minister."
To ensure drinking water, the state government has taken a decision not to release water for any crops. Water has been reserved exclusively for drinking purposes, he added. The minister said sugarcane yield in the state would be lower, as a sizeable crop had been diverted as fodder to save livestock.
The worst-affected districts in Maharashtra are Solapur, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Pune, Satara, Beed and Nashik.
The situation was 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 NDRF.
