New Delhi, October 7, 2026 — With 265 tehsils across Maharashtra officially under drought declaration and relief machinery already stretched, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis flew to the capital today to knock on the highest door available — Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Fadnavis met Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday, October 7, presenting a formal memorandum from the state government and walking the minister through the scale of the crisis — which tehsils are worst hit, what relief measures are already running on the ground, and exactly how much more the state needs from the Centre.

265 tehsils dry, state government already in relief mode

The number tells its own story: 265 tehsils — a substantial swath of Maharashtra — have been formally declared drought-affected. The state government has activated multiple drought-relief schemes, but a crisis of this breadth demands federal resources that state coffers alone cannot cover. That is the arithmetic Fadnavis carried into Shah's office.

The CM's core ask was targeted and specific: maximum financial assistance channelled through the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The NDRF is the primary central mechanism for compensating states facing natural calamities, and tapping it is both a fiscal lifeline and a formal recognition that a disaster has crossed the threshold requiring national-level intervention.

Shah's assurance and a Central team en route to Maharashtra

The meeting, by Fadnavis's own account, yielded two concrete outcomes. First, Shah assured the Chief Minister that the Centre would provide 'adhiktam sahayata' — maximum possible assistance — to Maharashtra. Second, and more immediately actionable, Shah confirmed that a Central government assessment team will visit Maharashtra between October 8 and 11 to conduct an on-ground survey of drought conditions.

That four-day field inspection is the procedural step that typically precedes a formal NDRF release. Central teams visit, verify, and submit reports that form the basis for fund allocation. The clock, in other words, has started.

Fadnavis expressed gratitude for the assurance, posting on X (formerly Twitter): 'Kendra sarkar mazbutine Maharashtrachya sobat rahil' — the Centre will stand firmly with Maharashtra.

Why timing matters for farmers and administrators

Drought declarations and NDRF disbursements are time-sensitive in ways that go beyond politics. Kharif harvest assessments, cattle-camp setups, water-tanker deployments, and job-guarantee scheme activations all require confirmed funding lines. Districts waiting on Central funds cannot commit to full-scale relief operations on expectation alone. The Central team's October 8–11 visit, followed by its report, will determine how quickly money moves and how many of those operations get the green light.

For the 265 tehsils under drought, those days matter enormously.