Central team visits Maharashtra to assess flood damage

Mumbai, Nov 4 (PTI) A nine-member central government committee began its visit to Maharashtra on Tuesday to assess the crop and infrastructure damage caused by heavy rains and floods in August and September, officials said.

The panel members are expected to visit districts such as Dharashiv, Solapur, Nashik and Washim, which reported the most extensive crop damage, they said.

"The central committee has reached Mumbai and will conduct field inspections over the next two days in the worst-affected districts to evaluate the extent of crop loss," a senior official from the state disaster management department said.

The team, led by R K Pandey, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry's Department of Internal Security, held meetings with state officials on Tuesday before departing for field visits.

The committee includes senior officials from the agriculture, finance, rural development, road transport, water resources, power and space ministries, besides representatives from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Last month, the state government announced a Rs 31,628-crore relief package for farmers affected by the August-September deluge, which damaged crops over 68.7 lakh hectares across 29 districts. Of this, the Centre earlier released Rs 1,566.40 crore as interim assistance.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the package was an attempt to help farmers recover from the setback, even though full compensation was not possible.

On October 29, the state cabinet approved the immediate disbursal of Rs 11,000 crore to farmers whose crops and soil were damaged, with directions to deposit the amount directly into their bank accounts within 15 days.

The central team's report, to be submitted after its field assessment, will help the Union government decide on additional financial assistance for the state. PTI ND GK