Mumbai:
Even as a joint delegation of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress postponed their meeting with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday, citing logistical reasons, the latter announced a relief package for the distressed farmers.
Shiv Sena Legislative Party (SSLP) leader Eknath Shinde said that leaders of all parties as well as legislators who are in different parts of Maharashtra could not reach Mumbai for various reasons. “They are busy in the tours of the flood-affected regions, arranging the ‘panchnama’ procedures and preparing their election expenditure reports and affidavits which have to be submitted to the Election Commission. Hence, today’s meeting has been postponed,” Shinde said in a statement.
Governor Koshyari took stock of the damage to crops caused by unseasonal rains in Oct-Nov and announced a flood relief package for farmers in the state, a Raj Bhavan official said. Accordingly, a relief of Rs.8000 per hectare up to two hectares for agricultural kharif crops and aid of Rs.18,000 per hectare up to two hectares for horticulture or perennial crops will be given.
Besides, the Governor announced exemptions of land revenue to the affected areas and examination fees of the school-college going children of those farmers who have suffered damages. Koshyari has directed the state administration to disburse the aid immediately to the affected peasantry.
Earlier, NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik said that the delegation was planning to apprise the governor how after the state was brought under President’s Rule, the administration has virtually been paralysed. Besides the farmers, he said applications made by patients suffering from various ailments have not moved ahead and they continue to suffer.
At the joint meeting of the Sena-NCP-Congress on Thursday, the three parties had decided to call on the Governor and urged him to kick-start the dormant official machinery on priority. Though the meeting was postponed, the Raj Bhavan has already initiated relief measures for the farming community. Currently, leaders of Sena, NCP and Congress are on tour in different parts of the state to assess the damage due to the ‘wet-drought’ hitting Vidarbha and other regions.
After his tour in Vidarbha, NCP President Sharad Pawar said that huge losses are suffered by farmers of orange, foodgrains, cotton, soyabean, and jowar. He also said he would raise the issue in the winter session of Parliament starting in New Delhi from Monday and demand maximum compensation for the affected peasants.
Visiting ravaged farmlands in Sangli and Satara on Friday Sena President Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Rs.10,000 per hectare compensation announced by Fadnavis and said it should be raised to minimum Rs.25,000 per hectare, besides assuring that he would waive off all debts of state farmers. According to official estimates, the unseasonal rains in the state in the past few days have rendered crops on over 54,00,000 hectares in some 325 sub-districts as useless. IANS
