When PM Modi went out of way to help drought-hit Maharashtra in 2016, recounts Fadnavis

Amid the high-decibel campaigning by the ruling MahaYuti and rival Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) for Maharashtra Assembly elections slated for November 20, an old video of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has caught up the fancy of netizens where the latter is seen recalling the severe drought of 2016 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s out of the way help in mitigating the crisis.

Maharashtra was hit with severe drought in 2016 and the state had little resources and wherewithal to lift itself out of the crisis. Devendra Fadnavis, the then state CM turned to PM Modi for help and the latter not only provided swift assistance but also extended wide scale assistance for drawing up an effective mechanism to deal with it.

The video has been shared by Modi Story, a popular social media handle on the X platform.

Sharing the video, the ModiStory handle wrote on X, “At that time, the Chief Minister of the state sought immediate help from Centre. PM Modi provided immediate assistance without any delay and also helped in finding a permanent solution to the problem of drought in the state. Narendra Modi's association with Maharashtra is years old, and he is always ready to help and develop this state.”

In the old and undated video, that has gone viral on social media, Devendra Fadnavis shares that Maharashtra faced severe drought in 2016 and the then state government lacked resources to deal with it.

“The drought was widespread and its scale was much higher than previous ones. There was scarcity of drinking water while agriculture was severely impacted. People found it difficult to carry out a daily routine. I approached the Centre and requested PM Modi for help,” he recollects.

He says that he sought a long-term solution for the crisis and also suggested the Prime Minister for funding many half-completed projects.

“In areas like Vidarbha and Marathwada, many small projects are stuck because of funds shortage. Due to the thin spreading of resources, none of the projects were completed. If some of these were completed, it could have helped us even during sparse rainfall,” he told the Prime Minister.

Further recounting the conversation, Fadnavis says that PM Modi asked for a complete list and also sought its revitalisation plan.

“We provided him with details of 119 projects. I demanded that the state be given 70 per cent loan and 30 per cent grant as it was capable of returning the loan amount. The Prime Minister went out of the way to accept this plan. Today, we have completed more than 80 projects,” says the Maharashtra Deputy CM.

He further says that today if the state faces a similar crisis, it would undoubtedly be in better shape and state to deal with it.