Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said that Central assistance for the areas hit by excess rains and floods in Vidarbha and other regions of Maharashtra would be announced this month.
“My visit to the affected areas in the Vidarbha region is to assess the damage caused by excess rainfall and subsequent floods, and to witness the ground reality,” he said after arriving here on a three-day visit.
The Central Government team would submit its report after assessing the damage, and the secretaries of Agriculture, Finance, Home and Planning Commission would sit together and finalise it before putting it before the ministerial group concerned, he added.
Pawar is the chairman of this group, and its other members are Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The group will decide on the quantum of Central aid.
When asked if the amount of Rs 1,180 crore, sought by the State Government, was sufficient for rehabilitation and compensation, Pawar said that the Centre would look into this aspect.