Mumbai, Oct 27 (PTI) Maharashtra’s ruling coalition partner NCP on Tuesday said the Rs 5,000 assistance announced for drought-hit farmers was only an initial relief measure and urged the state government to go beyond the prescribed disaster norms and provide additional aid to them.
State president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Sunil Tatkare said his outfit’s position was that assistance should go beyond the norms prescribed under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) so that farmers get more substantial aid.
“The Rs 5,000 assistance is not the final relief package. It is only the beginning,” Tatkare insisted while talking to reporters here.
The Lok Sabha MP from Raigad asserted the BJP-led Mahayuti government must stand firmly behind farmers facing drought, which has affected more than 300 talukas across 32 districts.
Earlier in the day, the state cabinet approved an advance payment of Rs 5,000 each to nearly 1.5 crore farmers in 304 drought-hit talukas before Diwali, officials said.
Tatkare said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has taken a sympathetic position on the issue of extending adequate financial assistance to cultivators battling the natural calamity.
A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, comprising ministers from coalition allies BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, would consider the issue, he said.
On reports of farmers committing suicide due to alleged harassment by microfinance companies over loan recovery, the former state minister called for strict action against agencies resorting to coercive practices.
He said the government should take appropriate decisions regarding crop loans and other credits taken from nationalised lenders, district central cooperative banks and registered institutions in drought-affected talukas.
If private finance companies or agencies were resorting to coercive loan recovery methods despite applicable restrictions, the government must take strict action against them, Tatkare demanded.
On an audio clip circulated by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, that allegedly talks about a transaction worth around Rs 500 crore, Tatkare said the matter should be thoroughly investigated.
The clip featured unidentified persons talking about Rs 500 crore being given to Jarange by Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The BJP has claimed the audio clip was generated using artificial intelligence, while the Mumbai police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. PTI MR RSY
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