Maharashtra declares drought in 265 of 358 talukas; crop-loss aid is still a separate order

The Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Department has declared drought in 265 of the state's 358 talukas. The Government Resolution is dated 25 September 2026 and was published on 26 September. It covers 32 districts and about 74% of the state, under Trigger-1 of the Drought Management Code, 2016. The decision follows a report by the Agriculture Commissioner on the kharif 2026 season. Neutral Politics checked the resolution, The Hindu, the Times of India, DD News, PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine and Deccan Chronicle on 1 October 2026 (IST). This note was posted at 2:48 pm IST that afternoon.

The resolution is numbered समिती-2026/प्र.क्र.82/मदत-2. The file on the state site is timed at 11:21 am IST on 26 September. The date on the resolution is 25 September.

What applies now, inside the 265 talukas, is a list of 12 measures. They are a concession on land revenue; restructuring of crop loans; deferment of recovery of agriculture-related loans; a concession on electricity bills for agricultural pumps above 7.5 HP, pumps of up to 7.5 HP having already been waived; a waiver of school and college exam fees; relaxed norms under the Employment Guarantee Scheme; drinking-water tankers where they are needed; no disconnection of irrigation-pump power in villages declared scarcity-hit; foodgrain arrangements for farmers and labourers; fodder; water conservation works; and drinking-water planning. Those 12 are the relief this resolution puts in place. They are not a payment for lost crop.

Crop-loss assistance is the next step, and it is not one of the 12. District collectors are to start crop-loss panchnamas, with photographs and GPS coordinates. The resolution says assistance for crop losses will be announced separately, after the prescribed procedure is complete, by a further resolution. No amount has been announced. A completed panchnama is the recorded inspection. It is not the aid.

The Hindu reports that 93 talukas are outside the list. Those 93 are not part of this declaration. The same paper reports a state-wide rainfall deficit of 18% from 1 June to 26 September. That deficit is The Hindu's figure. It is not a line this note takes from the resolution's own text.

On 29 September Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said crop assessment would extend to revenue-circle, or mandal, level in the areas left out. The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle reported that statement. The Hindu's story is timed at 6:14 pm IST on 29 September. Deccan Chronicle's report is dated 29 September. What he said was about how assessment would reach left-out areas. It does not add the 93 talukas to the drought list, and it does not name a sum for crop loss.

The Times of India, DD News and PTI, in The Hindu BusinessLine, reported the declaration on 26 September. The Hindu's explainer of what farmers get is dated 29 September. The check of the resolution and of these reports was on 1 October (IST).

The photograph with this note is representational. It is a dry reservoir, and it is not a picture of Maharashtra in 2026. The credit is Ashwin Arun Yadav / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What's next

The 12 Trigger-1 measures apply in the 265 talukas. Crop-loss assistance still depends on the panchnamas and on a separate resolution. No amount has been announced. The 93 talukas remain outside the list. The chief minister's remark on 29 September was that assessment can extend to revenue-circle level in left-out areas. That remark is not the resolution that would set a crop-loss figure.