Mumbai, September 23: Maharashtra is considering declaring a “wet drought” after weeks of heavy rains damaged crops across 30 districts, state agriculture minister Dattatrey Bharne said on Monday, as pressure mounts from farmers, opposition parties and agricultural experts.
Crop losses have been reported on 6.36 million acres, with soybean, maize, cotton, onion, sugarcane and pulses among the worst affected. Districts including Beed, Nanded, Solapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Nagpur and Chandrapur were hit hardest.
Declaring a wet drought would entitle farmers to more than just compensation for crop damage, Bharne said. Additional benefits include waivers on electricity bills, crop loan repayments and water taxes. “Farmers too are demanding this,” Bharne told reporters, adding that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde would take the final decision.
The state government pays compensation at 8,500 rupees per hectare for rainfed crops, 17,000 rupees for irrigated crops and 22,500 rupees for horticulture crops. Officials estimate payouts could exceed 42 billion rupees ($504 million).
So far, the government has disbursed 6.27 billion rupees, including 5.53 billion rupees for losses in Nanded alone, and 739 million rupees for damage reported in nine districts in August.
