State gets Rs 3000 crore drought relief

Biggest from Centre to Maharashtra: Chief Minister

The Union government has approved Rs 3,049 crore for the state from National Drought Relief Fund (NDRF) to tackle drought situation. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP state president Raosaheb Danve welcomed the decision, whereas MPCC president Ashok Chavan said that the relief amount was meagre when the severity of the drought in the state was taken into account.

Elated by the Centre’s assistance, Mr Fadnavis said it is the biggest ever relief provided by the Centre to Maharashtra. “I am grateful to the government of India and Rajnath Singhji for approving Rs 3,049 crore assistance towards Maharashtra drought relief,” Mr Fadnavis said. “It is the biggest ever relief given by the Central government to Maharashtra. Thank you Narendra Modi ji for the continuous care and support for farmers. I also spoke to Rajnath Singh ji personally and expressed my gratitude and sincere thanks. The Centre has supported us very strongly in this hour of distress,” he added.

The Centre had on December 21 sanctioned Rs 2,443 crore for four states — Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa and Manipur as central assistance for natural disasters faced by them. The fund that was approved by the High Level Committee (HLC) for central assistance to states on drought, landslides and floods is headed by home minister Rajnath Singh and was allocated out of the National Disaster Relief Fund.

Seeking to score political brownie points after the Opposition made drought relief by the Centre a major issue in the recently-concluded Winter Session of Maharashtra Legislature, Mr Fadnavis said, “There cannot be a more befitting reply to those who have been only doing politics on drought instead of uniting for farmers in times of distress.”

On the last day of the winter session held in Nagpur, the opposition had made stinging attacks on the government after Maharashtra was not included in the four states that received financial aid. Mr Fadnavis had expected financial aid of not more than Rs 2,000 crore. He admitted that Tuesday’s decision was far beyond his expectation. During the Congress-NCP regime, the state did not get relief of more than Rs 400 crore, Mr Fadnavis had said.

Meanwhile, state congress chief Ashok Chavan said, the relief is not sufficient to tackle the situation and state does not contribute its own share. “The drought situation is worse than 1972 and hence Rs 3,000 crore is not sufficient. The Centre should had to approve at least Rs 15,000 crore for the state,” Mr Chavan said, adding, “The BJP government did not sanction a bill amount for wells and EGS works completed in last year.”