Sharad Pawar to Maharashtra govt: Take up flood relief at war-level

Sharad Pawar with his granddaughter. Pic/Midday Archives

On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and asked his government to take rescue and relief efforts at war-level to compensate and rehabilitate those hit by unprecedented floods in several parts of Maharashtra.

Pawar also asked the state government to provide basic amenities at the earliest to flood-affected people in places such as Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and other areas. The 78-year-old politician took to social networking site Twitter and said that he has requested the Chief Minister to take efforts at war-level to bring on track those hit by the unprecedented flood crisis across the state.

Pawar, who is also a former Union minister also said that he hoped CM Fadnavis would address the concerns raised by him on priority and resolve them before the model code of conduct for Maharashtra Assembly polls which are due in September-October comes into effect.

Also Read: Sharad Pawar on Maharashtra floods: This must be declared a National Disaster

Sharad Pawar further said that he had raised some issues on August 14 during his visit to flood-ravaged Kolhapur district and observed that the cabinet sub-committee had taken some policy decisions on those. But he also said that some of the demands were partially considered and there were some flaws.

For the meeting with CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar was accompanied by the party's Maharashtra unit head Jayant Patil, MP Sunil Tatkare, senior leader Dilip Walse-Patil among others.

In response to the floods in Maharashtra, CM Devendra Fadnavis said that over 19,000 homes which were damaged or destroyed due to the floods will be rebuilt under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY). He also said that the state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 24,000 for rented accommodation to people in rural areas and Rs 36,000 in urban centres to live until their new homes are ready under PMAY.

Also Read: Floods in Maharashtra: Free ration, crop loan waivers for affected

The state government also offered free ration to the affected people for the next three months. Fadnavis also announced that the loans on flood-affected crops up to one hectare shall be waived off while the farmers who have not availed of any loans will get triple the normal compensation for the crop losses suffered by them due to flood in several parts of the state.

Just a few days ago, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and his ministers donated their one-month salary towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. According to one of the ministers, the amount will be used for providing relief and facilitating rehabilitation of those affected by floods in Maharashtra.

With inputs from PTI

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