Drought aid in Maharashtra: 12 concessions in 304 talukas, the ₹5,000 advance announced per farmer, and per-hectare compensation still to be fixed. What the official decisions say

Maharashtra now has 304 talukas officially declared drought-hit. Under a Government Resolution issued by the Relief and Rehabilitation Department on 14 October, 12 relief measures and concessions apply in these talukas, among them a land revenue concession, restructuring of crop loans, a halt on loan recovery and a waiver of exam fees. On the same day, after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that farmers would get an advance of ₹5,000 in their bank accounts before Diwali.

The key point: the ₹5,000 is an advance per farmer, not a per-hectare compensation rate. Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makrand Jadhav Patil has said compensation for crop losses will be announced in a separate Government Resolution once crop-loss surveys are complete. The per-hectare rate, and the number of hectares it will cover, have not been officially announced. In the government statements and resolutions we checked, we found no separate order for the ₹5,000 advance, no eligibility conditions and no payment date.

The drought declaration: dates and numbers

• 25 September 2026: A Relief and Rehabilitation Department resolution (No. Samiti-2026/PK 82/Madat-2) applied Trigger-1 in 265 talukas for the 2026 kharif season, based on the June–September rainfall deficit and other factors.
• 14 October 2026: A fresh resolution and a corrigendum. Using both Trigger-1 and Trigger-2, 39 more talukas were added and a total of 304 were finally declared drought-hit. The deficit is now counted from June to October.
• A difference in numbers: At his press conference the Chief Minister spoke of 40 new talukas and 305 in all. But the Relief and Rehabilitation Minister’s statement citing the resolution, the Food and Civil Supplies Department’s resolution of 22 October and the district-wise list published on Mahasamvad all give 304. The list covers 33 districts.
• Most talukas: Nanded and Yavatmal (16 each), Jalgaon and Chandrapur (15 each), and Ahilyanagar, Amravati and Nagpur (14 each). Konkan talukas are on the list too: Palghar (3), Raigad (Shrivardhan), Ratnagiri (6) and Sindhudurg (8).
• Scale: The first 265 talukas alone cover 32,936 villages and about 1.45 crore farmers, who would need more than ₹7,000 crore in aid, Agrowon reported on 15 October. The added talukas could push that higher.

The 12 concessions in drought-hit talukas

• Concession on land revenue
• Restructuring of crop loans
• A halt on recovery of farm-related loans
• A concession on current electricity bills for farm pumps
• Exam fees waived for school and college students
• Relaxed norms so that more employment guarantee works can start
• Drinking water by tanker where needed
• No disconnection of farm pump power in villages declared water-scarce
• Food grain availability for farmers and farm workers
• Fodder for livestock
• Water conservation works
• Planning of drinking water and water for livestock

Orders issued since then

• Exam fees: The Chief Minister said instructions had been given to waive exam fees for students in drought-hit talukas across the board, with no conditions. Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil told vice-chancellors that universities and colleges, including engineering and art colleges, must not charge the fee, must refund it if already collected, and would face strict action if found collecting it.
• Loan recovery: The Chief Minister said on 14 October that cooperative societies, district banks, nationalised banks and microfinance companies had been firmly told not to press farmers for repayment.
• Power bills: Electricity for farming up to 7.5 horsepower is already free, the Chief Minister said, and anyone pressing farmers for bills would be told to stop.
• Food grains: A Food and Civil Supplies Department resolution of 22 October extends its 9 October guidelines to all 304 talukas. Free grain is given to needy beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, within the limits set by the Centre.
• Fodder: The Chief Minister said the government would buy fodder grown by farmers at a guaranteed price; the detailed decision is still to be announced. Under the Chief Minister’s Rural Livestock Entrepreneurship Scheme, the minimum-livestock condition has been relaxed for 2026–27, and individual beneficiaries can get fodder seed worth ₹4,000 for up to one hectare at full subsidy.

The ₹5,000 advance: what is settled and what is not

• The announcement: The Chief Minister gave the news to reporters after the cabinet meeting at Sahyadri guest house in Mumbai on 14 October. The list of that day’s cabinet decisions published on Mahasamvad does not mention the advance as a separate item.
• Why an advance: The procedure for drought aid under central norms, and the steps needed with the Centre, cannot be finished before Diwali, so an advance was decided on, the Chief Minister said, according to Agrowon.
• What it is: Speaking in Wardha on 17 October, the Chief Minister said small landholders used to get barely ₹1,000; now every eligible farmer would get at least ₹5,000, with the rest of the compensation paid later. In other words, the ₹5,000 is an early part of the final compensation.
• Eligibility and e-KYC: The government has not yet published written conditions on who qualifies, whether farmers must apply, or whether e-KYC or an AgriStack farmer ID is needed. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Divisional Commissioner G. Shrikant told Sakal in late September that the drought survey records each farmer’s farmer ID and bank account.
• Has it been paid? No official figure has been released on how many farmers have been paid or how much. Sarkarnama, reporting from Amravati district on 22 October, said the government order for the advance had not been issued and the money had not reached farmers’ accounts. On 17 October the Chief Minister spoke of the aid as already given; the government has not announced a payment date.
• Where to check: The government has not announced any portal or beneficiary list for the advance. For now, a bank passbook entry or an SMS from your bank is the reliable check.

Per-hectare crop-loss compensation: where the process stands

• Collectors in the 304 talukas have been told to survey crop losses at once. Photographs of the crops and GPS coordinates from surveyed areas are to be collected, and the report sent to the government through the Agriculture Commissioner.
• An example: Sindhudurg district said on 18 October that it had completed surveys for 51,105 farmers on 26,565.78 hectares of affected land in eight talukas, and that verification was under way.
• Central team: An inter-ministerial team from the Centre inspected Beed, Solapur, Yavatmal and other districts in the second week of October. In Beed, team leader Muktanand Agrawal asked that pending soybean crop-cutting experiments be finished before Diwali.
• A two-hectare limit: Sarkarnama reported on 22 October that the government had rejected the blanket reports sent earlier from Amravati and asked for revised reports within a two-hectare limit. Amravati had earlier sought ₹734.48 crore for 5,18,177 farmers with losses on 7,11,960 hectares. The same report says the current aid policy rests on 2023 norms whose term ended in 2025–26, and no revised order has been issued.
• What this means: The per-hectare rate, the maximum area covered and the amount for each crop will all be set in the separate resolution. Until it is out, do not rely on per-hectare figures circulating on social media.

What farmers can do now

• Check whether your taluka is on the list. Mahasamvad’s 14 October statement carries the full district-wise list; you can also ask at the tehsil office.
• Confirm with your talathi or agriculture assistant that your field has been surveyed, and that your name, area and crop are recorded correctly.
• If you do not have an AgriStack farmer ID, ask the talathi or agriculture assistant how to register. Because the survey records the farmer ID and bank account, keep your bank account active and linked to Aadhaar.
• The government has announced no application form for the ₹5,000. Be wary of anyone who asks for money to fill one in.
• If your college has already charged an exam fee, ask for a refund and cite the Higher Education Minister’s instructions.
• If a bank or society presses you for repayment, tell them in writing that your taluka is declared drought-hit and recovery is on hold.
• If your loan waiver Aadhaar authentication is pending, our separate report explains the steps (link below).

Anger and demands

• Nagpur: The Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti and the Shetkari Sanghatana staged a ‘bhik mango’ (begging) protest outside the district collector’s office on Thursday, 22 October, calling the ₹5,000 a cruel mockery of farmers. In a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister they demanded ₹50,000 an acre with no hectare limit, a waiver of all farm loans and clean land records. The money collected during the protest was handed to the resident deputy collector to be deposited in the Chief Minister’s relief fund, Pudhari reported.
• Farm leaders: Kisan Sabha leader Dr Ajit Navale said ₹5,000 would not even cover the cost of cultivation, and Ravikant Tupkar of the Krantikari Shetkari Sanghatana demanded ₹1 lakh a hectare (Agrowon).
• Sharad Pawar: The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president had written to the Chief Minister seeking at least ₹50,000 a hectare for crop losses and ₹25,000 for each farm labourer family. From 2 October he toured drought-hit parts of Pune district and asked that personal loans taken by farmers, and loans taken by women through self-help groups, be written off.

The government’s position

Chief Minister Fadnavis answered the criticism on 17 October. Never before in the state’s history had farmers received help before December, he said, and this was the first time an advance was being given. Compared with farmers’ losses, ₹5,000 is not a large sum, he said, but it would bring some relief, and the rest would follow. He also pointed out that neighbouring Karnataka had given drought-hit farmers ₹2,500. The Relief and Rehabilitation Minister has said urgent work is under way in drought-hit talukas on water, fodder, employment and farm problems.

Also read: Loan waiver: how to complete pending Aadhaar authentication

Sources: Mahasamvad (DGIPR): 304 talukas declared drought-hit, district-wise list (14 October); Mahasamvad: Chief Minister announces the ₹5,000 advance (14 October); Mahasamvad: cabinet decisions (14 October); Mahasamvad: colleges told not to charge exam fees (14 October); Mahasamvad: the 25 September GR and checks in 18 more talukas (9 October); Mahasamvad: fodder seed rules relaxed (16 October); Mahasamvad: Sindhudurg completes crop-loss surveys (18 October); Mahasamvad: central team in Beed (10 October); Government Resolution, Food and Civil Supplies Department, 22 October 2026 (code 202610221655482506); Agrowon (15 October); Lokmat: the Chief Minister’s response (17 October); ANI via webindia123: the Chief Minister in Wardha (17 October); Sarkarnama: the two-hectare limit, Amravati (22 October); Sakal: farmer ID and bank details in the survey (30 September); Pudhari: the Nagpur protest (22 October); Dainik Prabhat: Sharad Pawar’s letter to the Chief Minister; Lokmat: Sharad Pawar’s tour (2 October); Free Press Journal Marathi (14 October)