Land issues of 1993 quake victims to be solved soon: Fadnavis

All the pending issues related to additional land allotment to the people affected by the 1993 earthquake in Central Maharashtra will be solved soon, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Sunday.

Central Maharashtra was hit by a powerful earthquake on September 30, 1993. Latur and Osmanabad districts were the worst hit by the quake, which had killed thousands of people, left many more injured and destroyed around 52 villages.

"There are some families who were given some pieces of land for rehabilitation. Today, the families have expanded and need more space," Fadnavis said.

"Similarly, some people gave their land voluntarily for rehabilitation of earthquake-affected persons. They received very low compensation and have limited resources for earning.

"The state government will soon come up with plans to address these issues and we will try to solve this problem," he said.

Fadnavis was speaking at a function in Killari village, the epicentre of the 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Latur district located around 500km from Mumbai, organised on the 25th anniversary of the natural disaster.

NCP president Sharad Pawar, who was then the chief minister of Maharashtra, and state ministers Sambhaji Patil- Nilangekar and Arjun Khotkar were among those present on the occasion.

Fadnavis also championed the idea of using solar energy as a power source for running drinking water schemes in rural areas, where he said most people find it difficult to pay electricity bills.

"I would like to run these drinking water distribution schemes 100 per cent on solar power," he said.

Marathwada is an arid region in Central Maharashtra with low rainfall pattern.

"Jalyukta Shivar (farm pond rejuvenation scheme) is creating more water storage capacity in the Marathwada region, but farmers need to maintain cropping patter as well.

"If Jalyukta Shivar increases water availability, then farmers should not immediately shift to water intensive crops," Fadnavis said.

The BJP-led government's flagship water conversation scheme has resulted in groundwater level increasing by four metres last year, the chief minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, Pawar appealed to people not to oppose water conservation works on the ground of land acquisition-related issues.

"If the region's water crisis is getting solved, then measures to achieve (that goal) should not be opposed," Pawar said.