Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis waives off crop loans of farmers for up to one hectare in the flood-affected areas. He announced this decision after the cabinet sub-committee meeting in Mumbai.
Crop loans taken by farmers varies from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh per hectare on an average. The farmers who have not availed such loans will be given three times higher financial aid than the official compensation to cope with crop losses.
The minister also stated that every collapsed or damaged house would be rebuilt under the Prime Minister Awas Yojna. Not only the centre, but the state government will also housing compensation to rehabilitate the flood-affected people.
Since the construction of such houses will take six months to one year, the government will take care of the rental expenses of the flood-affected people. In rural areas, the one-time compensation of Rs 24,000 will be provided to people. At the same time, Rs 36,000 will be given to people in urban areas.
In addition to providing housing to people, the government has also decided to waive the electricity bills for farmers using water pumps for the next three months. Foodgrains will be provided to the flood-affected people for free. The official documents lost by the people during floods will be provided once again.
Also Read: Union Budget 2019: Impact on farmers and agriculture sector
Although the quantum of damage is still being measured, the state government of Maharastra has proposed the centre for Rs 6,800 crore of financial aid. The districts like Sangli and Kolhapur are the most affected areas in western Maharashtra. Many NGOs have come forward to adopt villages for relief and rehabilitation work.
Meanwhile, the chief minister has also insisted FM Nirmala Sitharaman to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns and GST returns by three months in the flood-affected areas. The due date of file income tax returns of FY 2018-19 for people not subjected to any audit and filing GST annual return is 31 August 2019.
All the small businessmen will be compensated for up to 75 per cent of the losses or provided funds up to Rs 50,000. Also, the state government has constituted a committee to come up with flood tackling solutions in future.
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