Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked the Centre on Tuesday for announcing a relief package of Rs. 2000 crore for drought-stricken farmers in Maharashtra, describing it as historic and the highest ever in the State’s history.
The decision was taken at a high-level committee meeting in New Delhi earlier in the day. It was attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, among others. After the meeting, Mr. Singh announced that the relief for the year 2014 had been sanctioned from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
“The Centre has never provided such substantial financial assistance to any other State before. The State had already begun disbursing relief, without waiting for this assistance from the Centre, and 80 per cent of the disbursals have already been made,” Mr. Fadnavis said in a statement.
The Centre had given an assistance of Rs 500 crore when Maharashtra faced a severe drought in 2013, Mr. Fadnavis said.
