Wheat gutted, no relief for Rohtak farmers

Tribune News Service

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, April 20

The farmers whose wheat crop has been damaged in field fires are making rounds of government offices for compensation. The hapless farmers do not know whom to approach as there is no provision of compensation for the crops damaged by fire in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

“We have been requesting the authorities to make some provision for relief to farmers whose crop is destroyed in fire incidents, but to no avail,” says Preet Singh, state vice-president and district president of the All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS).

The Kisan Sabha leader points out that the fire-affected farmers’ requests for compensation from

the state government’s Revenue Department under the provision of relief for crop loss due to natural calamities are also being rejected.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda has demanded that the provision of compensation for crops destroyed by fire should be included in the crop insurance scheme. “Why there is no provision of compensation for crops damaged by field fires is incomprehensible,” says Deepender.

The Rajya Sabha member has also demanded a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for wheat-producing farmers of Haryana in view of the substantial decline in the yield of wheat crop this year. He also urged the government agencies and authorities concerned to ensure prompt payment to farmers and provide some relief in the norms governing the quality of wheat grains. Meanwhile, independent MLA from Meham Balraj Singh Kundu has come to the rescue of farmers whose crop has been destroyed by fire. The MLA has been reaching out to the affected farmers of his constituency and providing compensation to them from his personal funds.

“As the state government failed to provide relief to the fire-hit farmers, I decided to compensate them from my personal funds. I have provided compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre to the affected farmers for crop losses due to fire on more than 500 acres so far,” says Kundu.

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