Govt seeks Rs 717 crore aid for rain-hit farmers

 Varinder Singh

Chandigarh, March 26

The Punjab Government has sought a comprehensive relief package of Rs717 crore from the Centre to provide adequate compensation to thousands of farmers who suffered major losses due to their standing crops being damaged by untimely rains and hailstorms. 

In a letter to the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Punjab Agriculture Commissioner Balwinder Singh Sidhu has urged the Centre to grant the compensation. The relief, he said, would not only encourage the farmers in this hour of crisis, but would also lead them to work harder for ensuring food security of the nation. 

The state has sent to the Centre a proposal for the special relief package projecting the loss or damage (see table) caused to standing crops due to hailstorm and heavy rains in February-March.

The state government is providing a compensation of Rs3,600 per acre to the affected farmers considering the high input cost incurred by them and the excessive damage to their standing crops due to bad weather.

The compensation, according to Punjab, needs to be enhanced to Rs10,000 per acre.  Seeking financial aid, the state government cited the norms of assistance prescribed by the Centre vide its letter dated November 28, 2013, which provided for assistance to small and marginal farmers in inputs subsidy where crop loss is 50 per cent or more.

A perusal of the item would indicate that subsidy on inputs is restricted to Rs9,000 per hectare in areas with assured irrigation, subjected to minimum assistance not less than Rs750 and restricted to sown areas. "This was apparently aimed at enabling the farmers for sowing of the next crop. It does not really compensate the farmers for the loss incurred by them because of damage caused to their standing crops or loss of income, which they suffer," said Sidhu. 

In Punjab, the farmers have suffered damage to their standing crops, which have mainly been lodged or flattened because of hailstorms, heavy rains and winds. "Such a loss may not lead us to conclude that the loss was 50 per cent or more but certainly, heavy damage was caused to the realisable value of crops due to decrease in yield," said the letter. 

As far as the area with loss of 50 per cent or more is concerned, it would be exactly be known only after revenue inspectors (patwaris) have done special 'girdawari' (harvest inspection).