Pune: State govt expects to complete its assessment of crop damage in drought-hit areas by Thursday and submit a final report to the Centre seeking financial assistance, said agriculture minister Dattatray Bharne on Sunday.Bharne said around 75% of the assessment is complete, with the remaining work expected to finish by Thursday. The state is seeking maximum central assistance to help farmers recover from extensive crop loss.“Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and I have spoken to Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union home minister Amit Shah, seeking maximum assistance for Maharashtra. They have assured us of help,” Bharne said.Three central teams visited around 65 villages across Marathwada, Vidarbha and central Maharashtra to assess crop damage and the drinking water situation.Fadnavis, Bharne and other ministers, including Girish Mahajan and Makrand Patil, met the teams in Mumbai on Sunday to discuss the state’s assessment and relief requirements.Bharne said the teams were receptive to the state’s demands. “We shared details of the preparations made by state govt and explained various aspects of the current situation. The team members responded positively to several points we raised,” he said.The state is also preparing to tackle possible shortages of drinking water and livestock fodder in some areas in the coming days.Bharne said the Centre was likely to revise the relief assistance criteria under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), which were framed more than a decade ago. Maharashtra hopes to secure assistance under the revised norms, allowing more affected farmers to benefit.Describing the scale of the crisis, Bharne said farmers suffered severe losses as both kharif and rabi crops were affected. In previous years, farmers who lost one crop could often depend on the other for some income. This year, however, damage to both crops has left many farmers facing a severe financial crisis.“Farmers may also be unable to take up a second crop, adding to their financial burden,” he said.The govt is exploring assistance through central and state schemes, crop insurance and programmes run by the agriculture and water conservation departments. It is also considering measures to strengthen water conservation, including the ‘Paani Adva, Paani Jirva’ initiative, which promotes water storage and groundwater recharge.Bharne said these measures might offer limited immediate relief but could help farmers in the longer term. The govt intends to implement schemes that address the current drought while improving water availability in the future.
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