Maharashtra declares drought in 74% of the state

The Maharashtra government on Saturday declared drought conditions in 74% of the state’s subdistricts amid a deficit in rainfall during the southwest monsoon season.

The government order facilitates the assessment of crop damage and enables 12 relief measures including a waiver of land revenue, restructuring of crop loans, a stay on the recovery of farm loans, concession on electricity bills of agricultural pumps, and making available tankers to supply drinking water.

The order covers 265 of the state’s 358 talukas where a “trigger-1” criterion has been met. The 2026 Drought Management Code defines trigger-1 as a dry spell of at least 21 consecutive days during the monsoon.

The affected talukas are spread across 32 of the state’s 34 districts including Ahilyanagar, Amravati, Beed, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Jalgaon, Latur, Nagpur, Nanded, Nandurbar, Parbhani, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Wardha and Yavatmal.

The southwest monsoon is expected to begin its withdrawal from Maharashtra by October 5 with a 17% rainfall deficit, The Indian Express reported. The average deficit at the national level is 15%.

Between June 1 and September 22, Maharashtra recorded an average 787.2 mm of rainfall against the usual average of 953.2 mm during the period. In Solapur district, the rainfall was 57% below normal, The Indian Express reported. In Ahilyanagar, the deficit was 42%, followed by 34% in...

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