Maharashtra Announces Rs 5,000 Advance Relief For Farmers Before Diwali

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced advance assistance of Rs 5,000 per farmer before Diwali to provide immediate relief amid the drought, with an estimated outlay of Rs 6,000 crore. The amount will be directly credited to the bank accounts of around 1.10 crore to 1.20 crore farmers. The state has declared drought in another 39 talukas, taking the total to 304. The government will ensure the supply of drinking water through additional tankers in Marathwada, introduce GPS tracking and continue 12 drought-related concessions. However, the relief amount has drawn criticism from Opposition leaders and farmers. Meanwhile, the state government has completed 83 per cent of crop damage assessments in the 265 talukas covered under Trigger 1, according to the latest official data on the status of panchnamas as of October 15.

Mr Fadnavis chaired a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, during which the drought situation was discussed with ministers, including Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, and senior officials. During the meeting, ministers raised concerns that district collectors were not attending meetings convened by guardian ministers to review the drought situation. The collectors reportedly cited the Model Code of Conduct in view of the October 23 elections to three graduates’ constituencies — Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur — and two teachers’ constituencies — Pune and Amravati.

A senior official said that the Chief Minister had clarified that the Model Code of Conduct did not apply to drought-related matters. He directed all district collectors to attend meetings convened by their respective guardian ministers to review the drought situation.

The senior official said that, of the 32,957 villages covered in the assessment, panchnamas had been completed in 30,894 villages. The assessment covers 1,24,52,723 hectares of agricultural land, out of a total of around 1,50,36,068 hectares of land under cultivation. The completed assessments cover 1,13,13,876 farmers, against a total of 1,45,68,755 farmers in the state.

Relief and Rehabilitation (R&R) Minister Makarand Jadhav Patil said that a total of 304 talukas in Maharashtra, where Trigger 1 and Trigger 2 conditions had been met, had been officially declared drought-affected. “Earlier, 265 talukas where Trigger 1 conditions were met were declared drought-affected on September 26, 2026. Now, an additional 39 talukas have been included based on the Trigger 1 and Trigger 2 criteria, taking the total number of officially declared drought-affected talukas in the state to 304,” he said.

After the Cabinet meeting, Mr Fadnavis told reporters that most parts of the state had been affected by the drought. All 12 concessions would be provided to drought-affected farmers. “Over the past 25 years, drought has generally been declared towards the end of November, with relief provided in December. However, considering the severity of the situation this year, we declared drought in advance and issued the GR in October. A supplementary GR has also been issued to implement the 12 relief measures,” he said.

Acknowledging the financial difficulties faced by farmers ahead of Diwali, the Chief Minister said that completing the entire relief disbursement process before the festival would be difficult because of the procedures and statutory timelines prescribed by the Central Government.

The Chief Minister said the decision aimed to ensure that farmers had some money in hand to manage household expenses during the festival. The government would begin implementation immediately and make every effort to deposit the amount into farmers’ bank accounts before Diwali.

He also made it clear that the loan waiver process was continuing without interruption. The government had recently verified the list of an additional 3.5 lakh farmers, and the disbursement of loan waiver benefits to them was expected to begin soon.

On drinking water availability, Mr Fadnavis said the number of water tankers was increasing, while water levels in observation wells across large parts of Marathwada had fallen below three metres. He also said that drinking water must be reserved for people’s consumption. Around 16,000 illegal water connections used for unauthorised water extraction had already been disconnected. “We have also decided to disconnect electricity connections in cases of illegal water extraction. Although the measure may appear stringent, it is necessary to protect drinking water supplies,” Mr Fadnavis said.