Overview
- Sharad Pawar wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday asking for a drought declaration for worst‑hit talukas and urgent payments including at least ₹50,000 per hectare and ₹25,000 for landless farm labour households.
- The state government says it has not formally declared drought because National Disaster Response Fund rules require panchnama crop‑damage surveys and ground verification after October 5 to qualify for central aid.
- Maharashtra has started preparatory measures: preliminary district assessments, published loan‑waiver beneficiary lists, fodder camps, water tanker deployments, reserved reservoir water and extra evening electricity for irrigation.
- Opposition parties have increased public pressure by echoing Pawar’s demands and highlighting local incidents and optics, while officials warn that premature formal surveys could make farmers ineligible for central support.
- Heavy monsoon shortfalls in Marathwada and Vidarbha have reduced sowing and damaged Kharif crops, raising real risks of drinking‑water and fodder shortages for rural households and livestock as formal surveys and central aid await completion.