Drought declared in 265 talukas as Maharashtra assesses farm losses
The Maharashtra government has declared drought in 265 of the state’s 358 talukas, but the final scale of financial assistance to affected farmers will be determined only after officials complete an objective assessment on the ground, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said on Saturday.
According to the government resolution cited by PTI, the 265 drought-affected talukas account for approximately 74% of Maharashtra. The declaration comes after prolonged dry conditions damaged crops and intensified concerns over drinking water and fodder availability in several regions.
Pawar said officials have been directed to examine conditions at the village and farm level rather than determine assistance solely from broader drought classifications.
“The government has issued orders to the administration to conduct an objective, ground-level assessment of the drought situation.”
She added that because the drought declaration had been made only on Saturday, the actual assistance to farmers would be decided after that assessment.
What has the Maharashtra government announced?
While the amount and form of farmer-specific assistance are still to be finalised, the government has already announced 12 relief measures for drought-affected areas.
Pawar said these include concessions in educational fees for students and the commencement of employment guarantee works. She said the government would use the assessment reports to ensure assistance reaches affected farmers as quickly as possible.
The distinction is important: the declaration activates relief measures across identified drought-hit areas, but it does not yet establish one uniform final cash-aid amount for every affected farmer.
The final assistance will depend on the government’s assessment of actual conditions and losses.
Marathwada facing crop, water and fodder stress
Pawar highlighted Marathwada as one of the regions facing particularly difficult conditions.
According to her assessment, crops have either been damaged or dried up in affected areas, while farmers and rural communities are simultaneously dealing with shortages of drinking water and fodder for livestock.
She described the drought declaration as a measure that would bring some relief to farmers facing these pressures.
“The decision is a matter of satisfaction from the farmers' point of view,” Pawar said, while stressing that farmers remain in an extremely difficult situation.
14 of Nanded's 16 talukas declared drought-affected
Pawar is touring parts of Marathwada to assess conditions directly and interact with farmers.
She visited Nanded and was scheduled to travel to Parbhani and Beed as part of the assessment. According to Pawar, 14 of Nanded district's 16 talukas have been included in the drought declaration, while almost the entire Parbhani district has been covered.
She also said the government would consider the concerns of students from Marathwada studying in Pune and Mumbai if drought conditions create additional difficulties for them.
Government had already ordered field-level crop assessments
The latest announcement follows several days of government action focused on documenting the extent of agricultural losses.
On September 24, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane said authorities had been ordered to complete crop-damage assessments quickly. During visits to parts of Pune district, he inspected crops and water availability and said assessments should rely on on-ground inspections rather than statistics alone.
Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state would provide immediate assistance to farmers affected by drought-like conditions without waiting for financial assistance from the Union government. He also said panchnamas—official assessments used to document crop losses—would be carried out in affected areas.
Fadnavis identified soybean, maize and cotton among the crops suffering substantial damage, while paddy cultivation in the Konkan region had also been affected.
Why the ground assessment matters
The government's approach involves two separate stages.
The first is the formal identification of drought-affected areas, which has now resulted in 265 talukas being covered by the declaration. The second involves determining conditions and losses at the local level so that the government can decide the appropriate assistance.
This means the drought declaration should not be interpreted as confirmation that every farmer across the 265 talukas will automatically receive an identical amount of financial compensation.
Pawar's statement indicates that the eventual assistance package will be informed by the administration's ground reports.
Pawar had earlier asked NCP leaders to visit farmers
The Deputy Chief Minister had also directed NCP ministers, guardian ministers, MPs, MLAs, former legislators and senior office-bearers earlier this week to personally visit affected farms.
Her instructions included meeting farmers, documenting grievances, examining crop losses and coordinating with officials to ensure that panchnamas were completed and cases for government assistance were properly pursued.
That exercise is separate from the administration's formal assessment, but it reflects the broader emphasis on understanding conditions directly in affected agricultural areas.
What happens next?
The most important next step will be the completion of district- and farm-level assessments.
Those reports are expected to provide the government with a clearer picture of crop losses, water scarcity and fodder requirements. Pawar said assistance to farmers would then be provided as quickly as possible based on the assessment findings.
For affected farmers, therefore, Saturday's drought declaration is a significant administrative step, but the final amount and structure of direct assistance remain to be determined.
That distinction will be important as the government moves from declaring drought-affected areas to calculating and distributing actual relief.
JantaScope Editorial Note
This report is based on official statements and PTI reporting, with additional information cross-checked against government and public-broadcast sources. The final farmer assistance package had not been announced at publication. © 2026 JantaScope. All rights reserved.
