To make a provision for disbursing the Rs 31,628-crore relief package before Diwali for flood-affected farmers and their families, the Maharashtra government will need to divert funds from other departments and might even have to temporarily slow down on some development projects.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with two deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, explained the grimness of the situation on the ground due to the destruction caused by heavy rainfall in Marathwada, Vidarbha, North and Western Maharashtra regions, with the Marathwada and Western Maharashtra regions suffering the most.
While announcing the relief and rehabilitation package in Mantralaya on Tuesday, Fadnavis candidly admitted that funds would have to be diverted from some departments for the sake of the Rs 31,628-crore relief package, which he termed as the biggest in the history of Maharashtra. “While planning the budget, one did not know that rain would cause such massive destruction. Funds from other departments will have to be adjusted to meet the unplanned expenditure, which is mandatory to bail out farmers amid the current crisis,” he said.
Earlier this year, while presenting the budget, the state government projected that the debt for the financial year 2025-26 would be Rs 9.32 lakh crore, which is said to be the highest in the history of Maharashtra. The CM mentioned that during the winter session of the state legislature (to be held in Nagpur in December) the government would take a call on how to adjust the amount and from which department. “The reappropriation will be done during the December Assembly session,” Fadnavis said.
The heavy rain and flood waters have washed away standing crops, homes, belongings, and livestock. According to government records, 29 out of the 36 districts and 253 talukas suffered due to heavy rains. In fact, sowing had taken place on over a total of 1.43 lakh hectares of land at the start of the monsoon. Of this, over 68 lakh hectares of land have been damaged. “Nearly 60,000 hectares of farmland were damaged due to the top layers of soil getting washed away,” the CM mentioned.
Assuring that every affected farmer and his family would be bailed out by the government, Fadnavis reiterated that the relief package would be disbursed before Diwali, and houses that were 100 per cent damaged would be reconstructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Explaining that the announced package by Maharashtra was higher than those announced by states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Fadnavis said, “We are not in a race or comparing relief packages. But this is the highest compensation in the history of Maharashtra.” The government has placed a cap of three hectares for compensation.
Centre’s support
Stating that the Government of India (GoI) had assured full support to farmers, the CM said that the proposal for the relief package had not yet been sent to the Union government. “Maharashtra has already started disbursing the relief package. Once the proposal is sent to GoI, no changes can be made to the same. Hence, the draft document is being prepared carefully and once finalised, will be shared with the Centre. The amount spent by the state government will later be reimbursed by the GoI,” he added.
Opposition Speak
Meanwhile, the Opposition parties slammed the government for allegedly not meeting the expectations of affected farmers. Senior Congress leader and former leader of the Opposition, Vijay Wadettiwar, said, “The relief package, instead of enabling farmers to stand back on their feet, will push them into loan and debt traps.”
The Congress leader also reminded the Mahayuti — comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction — to honour the loan waiver promise it had made during the 2024 Assembly election campaign. “Farmers are in crisis. This is when they need all kinds of support. There’s no better time than now to implement the loan waiver,” Wadettiwar said.
Clyde Crasto, national spokesperson of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), questioned the timing of the announcement. “The report [damage survey] was ready, but the BJP-led government was waiting for the arrival of Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Maharashtra,” he said.
