Today the Central Government declared Rs 4714 Crore 28 Lakh fund for drought relief in Maharashtra. This amount is declared in the first step and the State Government is going to take follow-up for the remaining amount to combat drought condition. As the State Government is committed to support farmers, if required the farmers will be supported by State Government till then; this information was shared by Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, Mr. Chandrakant Patil.

The Central Government has declared 4714 Crore 28 Lakh Rupee fund for the Drought Relief Program in Maharashtra. This decision was taken at the meeting conducted by Central Home Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh. Mr. Patil added that the drought situation has risen in Maharashtra due to below average rains in the month of August and September. The State Government has declared 151 Tehsil affected by drought and an amount of Rs 7950 Crore was been asked for these drought-affected Tehsils. After that Rs. 4714 crores and 28 Lakh fund amount has been declared by the Central Government for this purpose. This amount is significant, and is the highest amount declared for the Drought Relief Fund to the Maharashtra state till date. The funds have been released in the first step now and the Central Government is positive towards the release of next Drought Relief Fund amount. The State Government is going to take follow-up for the remaining amount of Rs 2200 Crore fund.

Maharashtra State has been allotted with the highest amount of fund for the drought relief among all the other states. Apart from this, 268 Mandal and 968 villages which are not fitting in the conditions of the Central Government but have been declared as drought affected will be helped by the State Government on their own. The State Government is planning to distribute Rs 2900 Crore funds on an immediate basis without the availability of funds from the Central Government. Mr. Patil added, the way State Government helped farmers without waiting for the release of funds from the Central Government when the cotton crop was affected by disease (Bond Ali), this time also State Government is going to support farmers in facing drought. Therefore, farmers need not be worried about the drought situation.

Also, the villages which are not fitting in the drought conditions of the Central Government for the fund release, will be helped by the State Government and the proposal is under the process about the fund requirements for these villages. This information was also shared by Mr. Patil.