Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday announced a Rs 10,000-crore package for the flood-affected areas of central and western parts of the state.
The CM has earmarked Rs 5,500 crore for a one-time cash relief to farmers towards their crop losses due to the heavy rainfall that the state had received last week.
Crops on more than 10 lakh hectares (ha) were destroyed in the torrential downpour in over 10 districts in the state.
CM Thackeray announced the relief package after holding a review meeting with his Cabinet colleagues.
He also hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for its delay in the release of Rs 38,000 crore, which is due to the state towards compensation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and devolution of taxes for the current fiscal (2020-21).
Thackeray said that the government would have announced a bigger relief package for the flood-hit areas had it not been for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)-induced financial crisis that has affected the state exchequer.
“The package announced on Friday is the biggest relief package given for the natural calamity in the state. We have increased the relief amount to Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 per ha for the loss on irrigated and non-irrigated land of crops and horticultural crops, respectively. The relief will reach the farmers before Diwali (November 14),” the CM said.
The relief for each ha has been increased from Rs 6,800 to Rs 10,000 and from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25000.
The CM said that respective district administrations have completed spot assessment of the losses incurred due to the unseasonal rainfall.
He said that the state government would ensure that the relief package reached the flood-hit farmers at the earliest.
Of the Rs 10,000 crore package, Rs 5,500 crore is earmarked towards relief to farmers for their crop loss, Rs 2,365 crore for damages to roads and bridges, Rs 1,000 crore for destruction of rural roads and disruption in water supply, Rs 300 crore, Rs 239 crore and Rs 102 crore is allocated for urban areas, energy and resource schemes, respectively.
Solapur, Sangli, Satara in western Maharashtra and Osmanabad, Latur, Beed, and Parbhani in central parts of the state have sustained massive losses because of last week’s unseasonal rainfall.
