-ThePrint.in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says his govt has tried to handle the drought situation, but any farmer suicide remains a matter of concern. Mumbai: Farmer suicides in Maharashtra have nearly doubled in the four years of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, despite a surge in the overall expenditure on the agriculture sector. Data from the state’s relief and rehabilitation department shows that 11,225 farmer suicides were recorded between January 2015 and...

-The Indian Express The decision to declare 112 talukas as reeling under severe drought came on a day when the Devendra Fadnavis government completed four years. Mumbai: The state government on Wednesday declared “severe drought” in 112 talukas of Maharashtra. Besides, 39 talukas were placed under “medium drought” category, taking the total tally of talukas to 151. There are 355 talukas in Maharashtra. The government’s drought-mitigation measures, which were scaled up from...

-Livemint.com A government report says nearly 11,500 of Maharashtra’s 40,000 villages face water scarcity due to a combination of less than normal rainfall and consequent exploitation of groundwater Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday declared a ‘drought-like situation’ in 180 tehsils , more than half the 353 of these administrative units in the state, in an acknowledgement of looming agrarian distress. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said after a cabinet meeting that his government...

-Down to Earth While last year, the state’s 14,679 villages were hit by drought, this time 20,000 villages are already facing drought-like conditions The Maharashtra government has identified 201 talukas in 32 districts that are facing water scarcity owing to deficient rainfall in the southwest monsoon season. As per a preliminary list of drought-affected areas, which is available with the Down To Earth, maximum drought-affected talukas are in Jalgaon district (13) followed by...

-Mumbai Mirror The Maharashtra government’s claims about the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana (CSMSSY), a farmers’ loan waiver scheme, have fallen flat as only around half the money – Rs 16,498 crore – has been disbursed to 39.78 lakh farmers out of the state’s 80 lakh farmers. In June 2017, the Devendra Fadnavis government had announced Rs 34,000 crore for 80 lakh farmers. However, the latest data released by the...