Full Breakdown
Sharad Pawar Calls for Immediate Drought Declaration and INR50,000-per-Hectare Relief in Maharashtra
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Core Event
Former Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging a drought declaration in the most affected talukas and a relief package of at least INR50,000 per hectare for farmers whose Kharif crops have suffered severe loss. He also asked for INR25,000 in special assistance for each farm-labourer family and measures such as loan waivers, crop-insurance retro-implementation, and emergency water-supply actions.
Background & Context
The appeal follows an El Niño-linked monsoon that left 31 of Maharashtra’s 36 districts with below-normal rainfall, withering soybean, cotton, bajra, maize, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram, tur, moong and urad crops and threatening drinking water, fodder and livestock.
Data & Statistics
- Rainfall (June 1–Sept 15): 648 mm, 19 % below the long-term average.
- Shortfalls: Marathwada – 69 % below normal; Vidarbha – 61 %; Konkan – 33 %; western and northern districts – up to 28 % deficit.
- Monsoon total: 632.5 mm vs. average 866.4 mm (27 % shortfall).
- Sowing area decline: Vidarbha fell from 50.04 lakh ha (2023) to ? 47.5 lakh ha (2024); Marathwada from 48.21 lakh ha to 46.19 lakh ha.
- Crop-insurance assistance: Immediate disbursement of INR17,000 per hectare already announced for last year’s unseasonal rains.
Official Statements & Responses
Pawar’s letter stresses that the state should act without waiting for formal drought-assessment criteria. He demands:
- Declaration of drought in identified talukas.
- Cash assistance of INR50,000 per hectare to farmers and INR25,000 to each farm-labourer family.
- Implementation of a farm-loan waiver scheme and release of fresh crop loans.
- Raising the incentive for timely loan repayment from INR50,000 to INR1 lakh, extending waiver eligibility to borrowers who took loans in 2025-26 and defaulted this year.
- Retrospective application of the INR1 crore crop-insurance scheme.
- Deployment of the Employment Guarantee Scheme for agriculture- and water-conservation works, tanker support for orchards, and rapid surveys of villages facing drinking-water shortages.
- Opening fodder camps, providing drinking water and veterinary services for livestock, and repairing faulty electricity transformers.
- Waiver of all educational fees for students in drought-affected talukas.
A crop-damage assessment is scheduled to begin on October 5, following National Disaster Response Force guidelines.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Special schemes should be implemented through the Employment Guarantee Scheme in drought-like areas, including agriculture and water-conservation works,” — Sharad Pawar
Why It Matters
The relief package targets a region already grappling with farmer distress, water scarcity and pest pressures. Prompt financial aid and credit support could curb loan defaults and avert a deeper agrarian crisis, while infrastructure measures aim to sustain livestock and basic services during prolonged dry spells.
What's Next
- October 5 – Commencement of the state-wide crop-damage assessment, which will inform the scale of any subsequent relief disbursements.
- Ongoing monitoring of rainfall deficits and sowing trends, with the possibility of additional emergency measures if El Niño effects intensify.