Cabinet notifies 123 talukas in Maharashtra as drought-hit

MUMBAI: The shadow of drought continues to deepen in Maharashtra. About one-third of the state is now drought-hit. On Wednesday, the state cabinet notified 123 out of 355 talukas in the state as drought-hit.
A state delegation will meet the union government's empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on drought to press for an extensive financial assistance package for the state.All those talukas where the rainfall deficiency was 50 per cent or more, and area under sowing was 50 per cent below average were notified as drought-hit. On August 17, the state administration had identified 64 such talukas. With monsoon continuing to disappoint, the number has now risen to 123.
The state administration is also preparing a list of "drought-prone" talukas. All talukas with rainfall deficiency of over 25 per cent and over 25 per cent reduced area under sowing will be included in this category. The most number of drought-hit talukas (44 out of 123) were located in the Western Maharashtra belt, followed by Marathwada (36).Five out of the 355 talukas have seen 75 per cent deficient rains.
Rains have been 50-75 per cent deficient in 49 talukas, 25-50 per cent deficient in 124, 1-25 per cent deficient in 112 others. Rains have been normal or above average in 65 talukas.