Maharashtra Cabinet Reviews Flood Crisis; CM Fadnavis Promises Farmer Relief Package Before Diwali, Announces Cancer Care and GCC Policies

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday acknowledged the scale of devastation caused by recent floods, stating that nearly 60 lakh hectares of farmland across the state have been impacted. Addressing reporters after a cabinet meeting, he said the government has already disbursed ₹2,215 crore in compensation for crop losses sustained during July and August, but emphasised that the latest wave of flooding has expanded the scale of damage.

“A full assessment is underway as floodwaters continue to recede,” Fadnavis said. “A comprehensive aid package will be finalised in the next cabinet meeting, with the clear goal of ensuring farmers receive assistance before Diwali.” He clarified that while the term “Wet Drought” does not exist in official records, “all norms of scarcity in natural calamity will be applied to extend maximum relief.”

The state has also requested a special flood relief package from the central government. Once district-level evaluations are complete, a final proposal will be forwarded to New Delhi.

Maharashtra has faced back-to-back agricultural disasters this year. Heavy rains and flooding in July and August 2025 damaged over 29 lakh hectares of standing crops across 23 districts, forcing the government to release early compensation. The latest spell of torrential rains in September has pushed the cumulative damage to around 60 lakh hectares. According to farmers’ organisations, thousands of villages remain inundated, with losses to paddy, sugarcane, soybean, cotton, and horticultural crops mounting by the day.

This is not the first time the state has faced such devastation. The 1988 Konkan floods remain a grim reminder of how recurrent extreme weather has battered the agricultural economy. In recent years, erratic rainfall has produced a cycle of drought-like conditions in some regions and flood-like conditions in others, worsening farmer distress.

Two New Policies Announced

Alongside the relief measures, CM Fadnavis unveiled two landmark policies: Cancer Care Policy: A statewide framework to assist cancer patients by creating a tiered network of healthcare centres categorised according to treatment capacity. The policy aims to make cancer diagnosis and treatment more accessible, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.

Global Capability Centres (GCC) Policy: Designed to attract foreign investment and boost employment, the policy envisions 5,000 new GCCs in Maharashtra, potentially generating thousands of crores in tax revenue and positioning the state as India’s hub for global back-office and IT-enabled services.

The twin announcements reflect the government’s attempt to balance immediate humanitarian response with long-term development goals. While the flood relief package will focus on rehabilitating distressed farmers, the new policies aim to strengthen Maharashtra’s social infrastructure and economic competitiveness.