Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and sought financial assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the flood-affected districts in Maharashtra. The meeting in New Delhi lasted over an hour.
“I appraised PM Modi about the floods in Maharashtra… how the floods have adversely impacted farmers. I presented a detailed note on the floods, which was also signed by Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar,” Fadnavis told mediapersons after the meeting.
“I requested the PM to generously help Maharashtra to tide over the crisis that has devastated farmers. The floods caused by incessant rains have destroyed standing kharif crops,” he said.
Fadnavis said PM Modi assured the Centre will provide all support and stand by the farmers in difficult times.
As per the state government’s assessment, the floods have affected 30 districts in Maharashtra. Standing crops in more than 35 lakh hectares have been destroyed.
Saying that the process of panchanamas is still ongoing, Fadnavis said the final assessment is still underway. Accordingly, the state government will submit a final proposal to the Centre for financial aid.
On loan waiver, he said, “The farmers’ repayment of loans will be done next year. So, there is ample time for the government to take a decision. What is urgent is providing assistance and helping farmers cope with the current crisis. As loan waiver is a one-time commitment it will be done at an appropriate time.”
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Apart from the floods, the CM also raised two other important issues related to development and employment during his meeting with Modi. He also made a presentation on the defence corridor. The project entails developing a defence corridor in three phases in the state, which is home to 10 ordinance factories. The first corridor will be in Pune, Ahilyanagar and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The second corridor in Amravati, Nagpur, Wardha and Savner, and the third corridor in Nashik and Dhule.
“Through these three corridors, Maharashtra will attract greater investments and generate employment. The state government has already signed MoUs related to the defence sector worth Rs 60,000 crore. With the corridor plan, investments will rise to Rs 3 to 5 lakh crore,” Fadnavis said.
The CM also discussed the Gadchiroli steel hub project with the PM, underlining the potential of Gadchiroli emerging as the country’s biggest green steel hub.
