Mumbai, Oct 23 (PTI) Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday demanded that the government declare the whole state drought-hit instead of highlighting the water scarcity in 40-odd tehsils.

The Congress leader from Vidarbha, in a statement, claimed that most of the districts in the state have received below-average rainfall and the government is cheating farmers who need support.

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“Most of the districts in Maharashtra have received below-average rainfall. The soya bean production will dip because of the yellow mosaic disease, while the production of cotton is also estimated to remain on the lower side because of insufficient rains,” he said

He said the government should declare the entire state as drought-hit and take steps accordingly.

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"The state government has maintained that a scarcity-like situation prevails in only 40 to 42 tehsils. This is nothing but cheating farmers who are in desperate need of the state's support,” Wadettiwar said.

He further alleged that the state government was conspiring against farmers by downplaying the severity of the water scarcity situation and its impact on production.

“Local government officials are being pressurised to report minimum losses of crops so that the state won't have to demand financial assistance from the Union government. It also seems that the state government is keen on protecting the interests of crop insurance companies than that of the farmers who have opted for it,” the Congress leader claimed.

Revenue officials are also under pressure to show more than 50 per cent crop production in their regions to minimise the crop loss claims by farmers, he said.

The Maharashtra government should follow in the footsteps of the Karnataka government and declare the state as drought-hit and help farmers, Wadettiwar said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)