Overview
- On Friday Sharad Pawar uploaded a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging an immediate drought declaration and seeking at least ₹50,000 per hectare for farmers plus ₹25,000 for landless farm labour households and an immediate loan waiver.
- State officials say 83 talukas in 19 districts have gone more than 20 days without rain and that standing Kharif crops such as soybean, cotton, bajra, maize, tur, moong and urad have withered in many areas with rising pest damage.
- Maharashtra’s government says it will provide state-funded relief now, has published three loan-waiver beneficiary lists, and is arranging drinking water, fodder camps and extra evening power to protect remaining crops.
- Officials note National Disaster Response Fund rules require panchnama crop-damage surveys and ground verification after October 5 to qualify for central funds, and they warn premature surveys could jeopardise farmers’ eligibility for NDRF assistance.
- Political pressure has grown, with opposition calls for urgency and criticism of government optics at a drought review meeting, and the dispute could shape how quickly larger central-state relief and loan-waiver packages are finalised.