Maharashtra has expanded its drought-relief coverage to 305 talukas and announced an advance payment of Rs 5,000 to affected farmers before Diwali, according to a report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai based on decisions taken by the state Cabinet.
The Cabinet approved the inclusion of 40 additional talukas in the drought-affected category, taking the total from 265 to 305. The government has also directed that debt recovery from affected farmers be halted with immediate effect, the report said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the advance payment was intended to provide immediate relief to farmers and enable them to celebrate Diwali. The report said the amount would be deposited into the bank accounts of eligible farmers before the festival. It did not provide a total allocation, beneficiary count or a district-wise list of the talukas covered by the decision.
The debt-recovery restrictions apply to nationalised banks, district banks, cooperative societies and microfinance companies, according to the report. These institutions have been warned not to send representatives to the homes of farmers in the drought-affected areas for recovery proceedings.
The Cabinet has decided to apply Trigger One measures across all 305 drought-affected talukas. Under the measures described in the report, students in these areas will receive a full waiver of school fees without conditions. The government will also implement a sub-plan to provide fodder for livestock, an important component of drought response in farming communities where reduced water availability can affect both crops and animal husbandry.
Drinking-water access was also addressed in the Cabinet decisions. The Chief Minister said strict measures had been initiated to prevent water theft so that residents could receive drinking water. The government has instructed authorities to install 16,000 electricity connections for this effort, although the report did not specify whether these connections are intended for water-supply infrastructure, pumping facilities or another component of the drought-response system.
The announcement places drought management across several administrative systems rather than limiting it to farm compensation. The package combines direct financial support with restrictions on debt recovery, school-fee relief, fodder provision and measures linked to drinking-water supply. Each measure will require coordination between state departments, banks, local administrations, educational institutions and water-supply agencies.
The report said the Cabinet meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar. Its account refers to the decision as having been approved at a Cabinet meeting, while describing the meeting day inconsistently as Tuesday in the summary and Wednesday in the detailed report. The official notification, payment schedule, eligibility criteria and implementation instructions were not included in the supplied report.
The next operational milestones are the identification of eligible beneficiaries, the transfer of the Rs 5,000 advance, enforcement of the debt-recovery restrictions and implementation of fee waivers, fodder support and drinking-water measures across the 305 talukas.
