Shiv Sena(UBT) terms Maha govt’s Rs 5,000 per farmer drought relief as 'fraudulent gimmick' in 'Samaana'

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Thursday strongly condemned the state government’s announcement of an advance financial relief of Rs 5,000 to each drought-affected farmer, terming it a "fraudulent and hollow" gimmick.

The Thackray camp, in a scathing editorial in the party's mouthpiece, 'Samaana', argued that rather than standing firmly behind the nearly 1.50 crore drought-stricken farmers across Maharashtra, the ruling dispensation has effectively "stabbed them in the back with a 33 per cent rider".

The editorial said that while the government made tall claims regarding the immediate distribution of Rs 5,000 as advance aid, the relief has now been restricted strictly to areas where crop damage assessments (panchanamas) are complete, and crop loss exceeds 33 per cent. It pointed out that imposing such rigid rules during an unprecedented, severe drought will leave nearly half of the 1.50 crore distressed farmers entirely empty-handed.

With the kharif harvest completely failed and rabi sowing looking nearly impossible due to a total lack of rainfall, rural communities are grappling with acute shortages of drinking water and fodder. Despite official directives threatening strict action against private finance companies and moneylenders harassing farmers for loan recoveries, coercive tactics continue unabated.

The editorial highlighted tragic instances of farmers in Nanded and Latur taking their own lives, driven by debt pressures, raising questions about whether the government's orders are even reaching the ground.

Criticising the sudden push by the Soil and Water Conservation Department to dig water-absorption pits weeks after the monsoon has withdrawn, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena labelled these late measures as "post-mortem efforts".

With no rain left, it asked if the government plans to fill thousands of newly dug pits using water tankers. Such projects, the editorial alleged, are designed to line the pockets of contractors and middlemen rather than relieve parched rural throats.

Summing up the grim reality, the editorial remarked that while declarations flow freely from those in power, the administration's bureaucratic bottlenecks and qualification hurdles act as an "El Niño" far more destructive than the natural drought itself.

--IANS

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