Maharashtra approves Rs 11cr for farmers hit by untimely rains

The Maharashtra government Tuesday granted administrative sanction to disburse Rs 11 crore to farmers who lost their crops due to unseasonal rains during the summer this year.

It issued two GRs (government resolutions) sanctioning Rs 8,14,98,540 and Rs 2,93,00,655, respectively, for farmers who lost their crops during unseasonal showers in April-May.

In April, 12,726 cultivators were identified as having 5,093.65 hectares of the unseasonal rain-affected agricultural land, the order stated.

The GR for May said there were 4,409 farmers who have lost crops on 1,740.74 hectares of land.

However, it was not clear from the GRs whether beneficiaries would overlap from disbursements for the two months. Officials from the revenue department also could not throw any light on this issue.

The numbers of beneficiary farmers who lost their crops, spread over 5,093.65 hectares, to unseasonal downpour in April stood at 12,726.

Similarly, there were 4,409 farmers whose crops, spread over 1,740.74 hectares, were adversely affected by untimely showers in May.

The affected farmers hail from Konkan, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati revenue divisions, the GRs stated.