Nagpur: Over Rs 880cr in drought relief advance has been disbursed to almost 18lakh farmers in eight Vidarbha districts as on Friday, as part of the promised Rs 5,000 per farmer ‘Diwali advance’ by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Figures for Wardha, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli were not available till the time of going to press.Across Maharashtra, Rs 4,373 crore had been credited to 88 lakh farmers so far, with more accounts scheduled to be credited soon.Fadnavis had assured the advance payment as an immediate partial relief for drought-hit farmers in 304 talukas across the state. The remaining money will be paid once surveys are completed.In Nagpur district, Rs 153 crore was credited to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of 3.05 lakh farmers after verification at taluka and district levels. Disbursement began on Nov 2 and is still on. Mouda with 51,715 beneficiaries received Rs 26 crore, followed by Saoner with 34,704 farmers who received Rs 17.4 crore. Narkhed with 33,319 beneficiaries and Kalmeshwar with 29,213 farmers received Rs 16.7 crore and Rs 14.6 crore respectively.Bhandara district received Rs 50.08 crore for around 1 lakh farmers, while Gondia received Rs 37.46 crore for 74,910 farmers. Pramod Bhorkade, a farmer from Khandar village in Tumsar taluka of Bhandara, said he owns 5 acre and suffered significant losses due to drought this year, and the payment of Rs 5,000 brought him immediate relief for Diwali.Amravati division received Rs 641.10 crore for nearly 13lakh farmers across its five districts. Buldhana received Rs 212.92 crore for 4.3 lakh farmers, followed by Amravati district which received Rs 153.35 crore for 3lakh farmers. Yavatmal got Rs 114 crore for 2.28 lakh farmers, Akola Rs 81.08 crore for 1.62 lakh farmers and Washim Rs 79.75 crore for 1,6 lakh farmers.In Yavatmal, Pusad taluka recorded 31,676 beneficiaries, followed by Arni with 25,861 and Ralegaon with 20,190. Yavatmal guardian minister Sanjay Rathod said, “The govt assured farmers that advance financial assistance would be provided before Diwali in view of the prevailing drought conditions. Accordingly, the process of disbursing assistance is being completed on a priority basis. The govt stands firmly with farmers in this difficult situation and is committed to extending substantial financial support to the drought-hit.” The district administration said transfers to the remaining eligible farmers in Yavatmal were also underway.The assistance comes after a kharif season marked by deficient rainfall and low groundwater levels. Drought has been declared across all talukas of Nagpur district, where cotton, soybean and tur suffered for want of rain and farmers in several areas reported reduced yields. The impact is also expected to extend to rabi and summer cropping seasons.State relief and rehabilitation minister Makarand Jadhav Patil said the disbursement was being carried out on a priority basis. Payments held up by technical difficulties, wrong bank details or other account problems will be processed once these are resolved, he said. Agencies have also been told to ensure no eligible farmer is left out. The govt described the payment as interim relief, with further assistance expected after the festival. Transfers to remaining beneficiaries are continuing. (With inputs from Bhaskar Mehare, Anil Jadhav & Dhananjay Sable)
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