Govt allots Rs 1,500 cr for aid to Marathwada farmers hit by heavy rains from May to Aug

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Sep 26 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has allotted Rs 1,500 crore for disbursal of aid to farmers, who suffered crop losses due to heavy rains between May and August this year in the Marathwada region of the state, a senior official said.

Notably, most parts of the Marathwada region, comprising eight districts, witnessed torrential rains and flooding recently, and the work of assessing crop losses is currently underway.

"The state government has disbursed Rs 1,500 crore to provide compensation to the farmers who faced crop losses from May to August in Marathwada. The process to pay the amount has begun and the money will directly go into the accounts of the affected farmers," Divisional Commissioner Jitendra Papalkar told PTI on Friday.

Instructions have been given to the officials to upload the lists (of affected farmers) immediately, he said.

Heavy rains and swollen rivers have caused large-scale damage in Marathwada since September 20, claiming at least nine lives. Flooding destroyed crops on lakhs of acres in parts of the state, especially the Marathwada region.

"There is an alert of more rain in the region for the next three to four days. Therefore, we have informed the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and its state counterpart SDRF to remain on standby. Eighty per survey of the crop losses is over now," Papalkar said.

The state is also giving priority to providing financial assistance to the family members of those who lost their lives in the recent floods, he said.

Apart from the crop losses, the region has suffered infrastructure-related losses, the official said.

"We are carrying out the assessment work. At present, our priority is to help the kin of those who have lost lives, lost their animals and houses due to the rains last week, apart from giving compensation to farmers," he added.

The Marathwada region in the central part of the state comprises Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Latur, Parbhani, Nanded, Hingoli, Beed and Dharashiv districts.

Rain-related incidents have claimed the lives of 86 persons across eight districts of the Marathwada region in Maharashtra so far during the ongoing monsoon season, officials have said. PTI AW NP