States » WestPosted at: Nov 14 2026 5:39PM


Maha: E-crop survey deadline extended till Nov 30; offline facility in no-network areas: Minister

Nagpur, Nov 14 (UNI) The Maharashtra government has extended the deadline for the E-Peek Pahani (e-crop survey) till November 30, allowing farmers in areas without mobile network connectivity to complete the registration process offline, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced on Saturday.
Of the total 3.45 crore farmers in the state, 3.20 crore have completed the e-crop survey so far, leaving around 25 lakh farmers to complete the process. The extension has been granted in view of farmers' demands, he said.
Bawankule said the government had also initiated several measures to tackle the drought situation, including prioritising farm roads, addressing crop insurance complaints, permitting borewells to save fruit orchards and implementing water conservation measures. A government circular in this regard has been issued.
He said farmers in several areas were unable to complete the online crop registration due to poor mobile network connectivity. Accepting their demand, the government has now made offline registration available alongside the online facility. He appealed to farmers to complete the process by November 30.
Complaints against crop insurance companies will be taken up at the forthcoming meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee, Bawankule said.
A large number of complaints were resolved during the previous meeting, which was attended by representatives of insurance companies. The companies were also provided with complete records of crop damage assessments conducted in view of the drought situation.
The state government was ensuring that farmers did not face difficulties in receiving crop insurance benefits, he added.
The government has decided to prioritise farm roads over cement roads amid the prevailing drought situation. No cement road works will be undertaken this year through District Planning Committee (DPC) funds and the projects have been put on hold to facilitate large-scale construction of farm roads.
To expedite the Chief Minister Baliraja Shet-Panand Road Scheme, MLAs have been appointed as chairpersons in their respective Assembly constituencies, with co-chairpersons also being appointed. Nearly 125 constituencies across the state have been covered under this arrangement.
MLAs have been urged to convene meetings immediately and initiate maximum farm road works in their constituencies. The projects will also be linked with the V.B. Ramji scheme to generate employment for agricultural labourers.
DPC funds and, wherever necessary, MLA development funds will be utilised for these works. The objective is to provide employment to rural labourers while ensuring better road connectivity for farmers to reach their fields during the drought, Bawankule said.
Bawankule said delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies was necessary from the development perspective, as several constituencies currently cover vast geographical areas.
The Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency comprises nearly six Assembly segments, while the geographical spread of the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency is around 350 km. In Ramtek, representatives have to travel nearly 250 km from Nagpur to reach different parts of the constituency, he said.
His own Kamthi Assembly constituency has around 5.5 lakh voters spread across three talukas. Despite working from morning till late at night, it is difficult to address all issues across such a large constituency, he added.
Smaller constituencies would enable elected representatives to maintain closer contact with people and address their problems more effectively. It would also help ensure better coordination with the administration and facilitate the delivery of government schemes to beneficiaries, he said.
The exact formula for delimitation would become clear only after the relevant Bill was introduced, as there was no definite information available on the matter at present, he added.
He also stressed the importance of providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, saying women representatives could contribute significantly to the vision of a developed India and Maharashtra.
Describing the expansion of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as a positive development, Bawankule said the induction of more alliance partners would strengthen the coalition and contribute to the country's development.
He said more parties were joining the NDA because of their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and his vision of a developed India.
Criticising the Congress, he alleged that the party was gradually weakening and had failed to keep its INDIA bloc allies together.
The Congress had neither a concrete development roadmap nor a vision for a developed India and was only engaged in spreading negativity and criticising Prime Minister Modi, he alleged.
There were not only differences of opinion but also serious internal discord within the Congress, due to which its alliance partners were leaving, Bawankule claimed.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of phone tapping, Bawankule termed them baseless and said the Congress leader was making new statements every day to attract the attention of the country and the media.
"There is no truth in the phone-tapping allegations," he said.
The NDA would register such a massive victory in the 2029 elections that Rahul Gandhi would not even be able to imagine it, Bawankule claimed.
He said the government was working towards fulfilling the vision of a developed India outlined by Prime Minister Modi in 2024. The Opposition was apprehensive that its political ground was shrinking because of the government's development agenda, he added.
In view of declining water reserves in Nagpur, arrangements have been made to meet the water requirements of the Koradi and Khaparkheda thermal power plants through treated sewage water.
The two plants will no longer require water from the Pench and Totladoh dams, and their existing water allocation has been relinquished.
Instead, tertiary-treated water obtained after processing sewage from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation will be used to operate the power plants.
This will eliminate the need to divert water meant for drinking and agricultural purposes to power generation, Bawankule said.
He credited Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and union Minister Nitin Gadkari for their initiative in making the use of treated sewage water for the power plants a reality, describing it as a major change in water management.
Bawankule said drought conditions had severely affected orange growers and other fruit orchard owners across the state.
Farmers have been permitted to dig borewells till December 15 to save orange orchards facing the threat of drying up. The earlier restriction on borewell drilling has been lifted, he said.
The decision would help protect orange, sweet lime, chikoo and mango orchards in Nagpur, Vidarbha and other parts of Maharashtra, he added.
As part of efforts to improve groundwater levels by facilitating rainwater percolation, the government has planned to construct 5,000 recharge shafts in Nagpur district.
Besides, 5,000 Jaltaras are also being developed to ensure that rainwater falling in agricultural fields, villages and surrounding areas percolates directly into the ground.
The measures are aimed at improving groundwater availability and strengthening water conservation efforts, Bawankule added.
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Tags: #Maha: E-crop survey deadline extended till Nov 30; offline facility in no-network areas: Minister
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