New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Friday, appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide substantial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state government to help the farmers affected by heavy rains and floods in various parts of the state.

He told reporters after an hour-long meeting with PM Modi in New Delhi that “I have submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister giving an idea of the flood situation in Maharashtra and briefed him about damage caused due to torrential rains and floods. I have requested him to provide the state with substantial help through the NDRF”.

The Chief Minister also said, “Prime Minister has been quite positive in his approach and assured that the Central government will take action after it receives proposal from the state government. The Prime Minister has promised to provide every possible help to the state government.”

He clarified that there has been no visit so far being planned by Prime Minister Modi to the flood-affected areas in Maharashtra.

However, CM Fadnavis said that PM Modi is expected to visit Maharashtra on October 8 and 9.

The Prime Minister is likely to inaugurate the Navi Mumbai International Airport and also the final stretch of the underground Metro-3 corridor from Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli to Cuffe Parade.

In addition, PM Modi is also expected to launch several development projects ahead of the upcoming local and civic body elections in Maharashtra.

The Chief Minister’s meeting with the Prime Minister took place a day after he presented a memorandum to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to provide substantial assistance from the NDRF to help the farmers affected by the natural disaster in the state.

Chief Minister Fadnavis’s meeting also took place when opposition parties in Maharashtra are demanding that the state government should soon declare a wet drought and provide a financial aid of Rs 50,000 per hectare.

The Chief Minister told Union Home Minister Shah on Thursday that the Maharashtra government needs maximum relief allocation from the NDRF to provide adequate assistance to affected farmers and help rebuild their livelihood.

“Maximum assistance from NDRF will help loss/land damage, livelihood assistance for flood-affected families, assistance for damaged houses and help for damaged properties. A detailed proposal regarding assistance for flood-affected agricultural land is being sent to the Central government,” CM Fadnavis said.

He expressed deep concern about the situation arisen due to heavy rains and floods in many districts of Maharashtra, saying that it has caused unprecedented damage to agricultural land and severely impacted the livelihoods of lakhs of farmers across the state.

“More than 31 districts in Maharashtra are affected by continuous heavy rains and floods. Due to continuous heavy rainfall, widespread crop damage has occurred in vast areas causing great concern for the farming community. The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has allocated Rs 2,215 crore for immediate relief to farmers affected by the crop loss,” the Chief Minister said in a memorandum.

He also said that in many districts heavy rains are expected to continue until the late Kharif season (September 2025).

“More than 50 lakh hectares of agricultural land have been affected by crop damage so far. The situation could lead to additional crop loss in the state,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that he also made a presentation to the Prime Minister on the Maharashtra Defence Corridor.

“I brought to the attention of the Prime Minister that an ecosystem of defence manufacturing is being created in Maharashtra, which will give a boost to defence manufacturing, benefit the economy and create employment. I have shown that this corridor can be completed in three places. The first part of this can be completed in Pune, Ahilyanagar and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the second in Nashik and Dhule and the third in Nagpur, Wardha and Amravati,” he added.

CM Fadnavis said that he has presented a roadmap on the Maharashtra Defence Corridor, adding that Prime Minister Modi reacted positively on this matter.

He also added that he also presented to the Prime Minister the state government’s plan to develop Gadchiroli as the new steel city of the country and also promoting the production of green steel there.

–IANS

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