The Maharashtra government stepped up its response to the ongoing floods on Monday by allowing local districts to tap into their planning funds for urgent relief efforts. Officials announced that up to 5% of the money from the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) can now go toward helping flood victims, with the option to use as much as 10% if the district planning committee gives the green light.
These funds will cover key needs like rescue operations, providing shelter, food, and clean water to those affected, fodder for livestock, cleanup in flooded areas, and quick fixes to damaged infrastructure. Each DPDC gets a share of the state’s roughly Rs 20,000 crore annual budget for local development projects, which helps districts decide on priorities closer to home. With this change, about 10% of that total—around Rs 2,000 crore—could now support flood relief across Maharashtra.
The move comes as heavy rains battered the state, especially in Marathwada and other regions, wrecking crops on nearly 28 lakh hectares in just three days. Adding to the pain, July and August floods already damaged 15.45 lakh hectares. Overall, the Kharif season—India’s main monsoon crop cycle—has seen losses on about 43 lakh hectares in the past three months, hitting around 30% of the total area under Kharif crops (not counting sugarcane) for 2025-26. Farmers are reeling from this widespread Maharashtra crop damage, and relief is top of mind.
On Tuesday, the state Cabinet is expected to roll out a compensation package for these flood-affected farmers, offering some much-needed financial help. Meanwhile, opposition groups like Congress, NCP-SP, and Shiv Sena-UBT are pushing hard for a special Assembly session to tackle the floods and boost relief measures.
With the rains finally easing on Monday, focus shifted to managing water levels. The state kept releasing water from major dams, including Jayakwadi, Sina-Kolegaon, Ujani, Gangapur, Girna, and others, to prevent worse flooding. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a review meeting on the flood situation in Marathwada and checked dam operations statewide. The day before, he chatted with local officials and the Water Resources Department, urging district collectors to stay on high alert with all equipment ready.
Fadnavis shared updates on the discharges, noting that Jayakwadi Dam was letting out 1,88,000 cusecs of water, but with no more rain, they didn’t need to ramp it up. “This flow should reach Nanded by evening,” he said. Yeldari Dam was handling 29,400 cusecs under control, and floods in the Manjara and Terna rivers had started to recede. In western Maharashtra, things looked stable too—Ujani at 75,000 cusecs and Sina-Kolegaon at 80,000 cusecs.
The CM highlighted the human side: Due to Jayakwadi’s release, about 10,000 people from villages in Jalna district, including Partur, Ambad, and Ghanasawangi, had to move to safer spots. Around 6,870 of them found temporary homes in district council schools and community temples at 23 sites. “We’re providing food and all essentials,” Fadnavis added. Farmers’ livestock got relocated too, with fodder supplied to keep them safe.
He also touched on other areas: In Nashik, Gangapur Dam released 11,000 cusecs and Mula Dam 10,000 cusecs, with rains dying down. Flows into Nashik and Ahmednagar dams from Jayakwadi dropped from 87,000 to 68,000 cusecs. Jalgaon’s Girna Dam was at 54,500 cusecs, and Hatnur at 65,800 cusecs. Good news for Konkan—all rivers there stayed below warning levels.
Still, not everyone’s satisfied. The All India Kisan Sabha slammed the government on Monday for ignoring the family of Pandit Sontakke, a farmer from Wahegaon in Nanded district who took his own life after floods destroyed his four acres of crops. AIKS National Joint-Secretary Ajit Nawale pointed out that no government officials had even visited the grieving family, calling it a heartbreaking oversight amid the broader Maharashtra floods crisis.
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