India, Oct. 8 -- The state government on Tuesday announced a package of Rs.31,628 crore for farmers affected by the August-September floods which battered 253 of 354 talukas in 29 districts, damaging crops on over 68.70 lakh hectares. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the package could not compensate farmers 100% but it was an attempt to help them get back on their feet again.

Calling it a "historic" package and "the highest ever", Fadnavis said that Rs.17,675 crore was the actual compensation for crop losses, Rs.3,000 crore was for the farmlands that had been washed away while the remainder was from various other schemes such as crop insurance and land restoration works under the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). Farmers' lead...