Haryana disbursing highest ever compensation to farmers

Chandigarh, Apr 14 (UNI) Haryana Government has begun disbursing the cheques for the highest ever compensation, totalling Rs 225 crore, to the farmers who have suffered crop losses of more than 25 per cent in the recent unprecedented hailstorms and heavy rains.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the State Government has fulfilled its promise made during the last session of the State Assembly that disbursement of compensation to the affected farmers would commence in the first week of April.

The farmers have started getting compensation even before the commencement of procurement and before the Rabi crops reached the mandis, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the Government has also decided to postpone the abiana for the Rabi crops for six months and subsidize the seed for the next crop.

Short term crop loans of State Cooperative Banks would be converted into medium term loans, wherever the damage was more than 50 per cent.

Mr. Hooda reminded that the farmers were promised that wherever the damage was more than 25 per cent, the Government would pay the compensation as per the state norms at the earliest possible.

He said that it was for the first time in the history of the State that compensation was being paid to the farmers through cheques and teams formed in districts under class-I Officers were disbursing the cheques at the doorsteps of the affected farmers.

Arrangements have also been made with banks to arrange for opening of zero balance accounts for these farmers, he added.

Mr. Hooda said that crops in an area of more than 5.6 lakh acres had been damaged because of unprecedented hailstorms and heavy rains.

He pointed out that the norms fixed by the State Government were much higher than those of the Central Government. The State Government was paying Rs 5000 per acre for 75 per cent to 100 per cent damage to wheat, paddy and cotton crops and Rs 4000 per acre for other crops. In case of damage between 50 per cent and 75 per cent, the compensation is Rs 4000 for wheat, paddy and cotton and Rs 3000 for other crops. The amount of compensation for damage between 25 per cent and 50 per cent is Rs 3000 for wheat, paddy and cotton and Rs 2000 for other crops.

UNI