State seeks Rs1,136 cr for crop losses

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 31

The Central Government is mulling implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report in a phased manner, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan said here today.

“We have received a good suggestion in a letter received from Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar three days ago to increase the returns to farmers in a phased manner. The demand was reiterated by the Chief Minister today and the Centre would consider this seriously,” he said here today.

Balyan, however, said the Centre was keen to implement the recommendations but it was not feasible to ensure 50 per cent profit over the input cost to the farmers.

Haryana’s wish list

Khattar urged the Central Government to provide Rs 100 bonus per quintal over and above the MSP of wheat, relax standard quality norms for wheat procurement in the current rabi season and a special central assistance of Rs 1,136 crore to compensate the loss to crops.

The chief minister said this during a meeting with Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan and Union Minister for State for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan to compensate the farmers’ losses to crops in the recent hailstorm and unseasonal rain here today.

The Chief Minister also suggested formulating a five-slab system for assessing the loss to crops so that every farmer could get the benefit of compensation announced by the government. He said compensation should be calculated in the slabs of 0-10 per cent, 11 to 25 per cent, 26 to 50 per cent, 51 to 75 per cent and 76 to 100 per cent. At present, the Central Government is not giving compensation on crop loss up to 50 per cent.

Every grain will be procured: Minister

Bhiwani: Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the Centre would provide hail-hit farmers with compensation after completing the ‘girdawari’ soon. “I have never seen devastation of crops on such scale in my life,” said Paswan, who along with Union Minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, visited here on Tuesday. Taking stock of damage to crops in nearly 10 villages near Bhiwani city, Paswan said a central team would submit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi a report on the extent of damage in the district. Urging farmers to keep faith in the Modi government, the Cabinet Minister said government agencies would procure every grain of farmers. “Officials of the Centre and the state government will find a way on this,” he said. Balyan and Dhankar assured farmers that compensation to the tune of Rs 10,000 per acre would be given to farmers whose entire crop was damaged. — Sat Singh