Mumbai, Oct 28 (NationPress) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed significant dissatisfaction regarding the sluggish disbursement of financial aid to farmers and citizens affected by floods. During the routine cabinet meeting, he instructed the Chief Secretary to implement immediate corrective actions to guarantee timely payments, as per sources.

Fadnavis intervened after various ministers, including Girish Mahajan, Gulabrao Patil, and Dattamama Bharane, highlighted that despite government funds being released, financial support had not reached beneficiaries across multiple districts. The ministers claimed the delays were due to concerned officers taking Diwali leave, which caused administrative bottlenecks.

Officials familiar with the cabinet discussions reported that the Chief Minister was visibly disturbed upon discovering that fund transfers had stalled in certain districts, as district collectors were on leave, leaving disbursement orders unaddressed.

“The CM was unequivocal that such justifications would not be tolerated moving forward,” said a senior official present at the meeting.

He further commanded the Chief Secretary to ensure that the responsible officers are held accountable and that financial support reaches all qualified beneficiaries without any further lag.

As per cabinet sources, Fadnavis emphasized that the overall responsibility for ensuring the seamless and prompt transfer of relief funds would lie with the Chief Secretary.

The state government had announced a relief package of ₹31,628 crores on October 7 for farmers who endured severe losses due to heavy rains and floods during this year’s monsoon season. This package encompasses compensation for crop damages, losses to life and property, soil erosion, direct financial aid to farmers, hospitalization costs, ex gratia payments, and support for damages to houses, shops, and cattle sheds. A total of 29 out of 36 districts and 253 out of 358 talukas in Maharashtra faced the brunt of excessive rainfall.

As reported by officials, the state government has already allocated ₹648.15 crores for the relief distribution to farmers impacted by excessive rainfall and floods. Up to now, the Relief and Rehabilitation Department has authorized around ₹8,139 crores to assist farmers affected by natural disasters in the current kharif season, stated Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makarand Jadhav-Patil last week.

In the meantime, Fadnavis indicated that the government has already transferred ₹8,000 crores directly into the bank accounts of 40 lakh farmers impacted by the floods. The cabinet on Tuesday also sanctioned an additional ₹11,000 crores under the same relief package.

“To date, ₹8,000 crores have been allocated under the government’s assistance program. The funds have reached roughly 40 lakh farmers. Today, the cabinet sanctioned the release of another ₹11,000 crores. Since this amount was not included in the budget, it has been approved as an exceptional measure. We have mandated that these funds be deposited into the farmers’ accounts within the next 15 days,” the Chief Minister stated.