Haryana should be declared flood-affected: Hooda

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said that the compensation announced by the BJP government was woefully inadequate against the damage caused in the state. Saying that the compensation was only a drop in the ocean, the former Chief Minister said farmers should get Rs 50,000-60,000 per acre.

Addressing a press conference here today along with Congress state president Udai Bhan, Hooda said announcing only Rs 7,000-15,000 compensation per acre was a mockery of farmers, whose crops have been destroyed. “They have suffered a loss of about Rs 1 lakh per acre. There is no hope for the next crop either, which means farmers have suffered a loss of two full seasons. Despite this, the government is announcing compensation less than the cost of fertilisers. Farmers should get at least Rs 50,000-60,000 per acre compensation,” Hooda demanded.

He said 14 lakh acres of crops of farmers had been completely destroyed due to floods. “Thousands of houses have developed cracks. Shops, buildings and other establishments have been damaged. People have suffered a huge financial loss. To compensate for all this, proper relief is required, for which the Central government should announce a special relief package for Haryana,” he stated.

Hooda said he himself had visited the flood-affected areas, and the situation in half of Haryana was bad. “Despite this, it is unfortunate that the state government has not declared Haryana a flood-affected state. The state government should have done so and demanded a package from the Centre, because 5,200 villages of the state are affected by the floods,” he added.

Bhan also reiterated this demand and expressed displeasure over the attitude of the state government.

Hooda said the government should leave the hassle of the portal and immediately get the special girdawari done and provide financial help to the farmers. “The government registers a case for burning stubble based on satellite images, but when it comes to floods, diseases and other disasters, farmers are left at the mercy of the portal. The BJP has made the portal a means to escape from its responsibility and delay compensation,” he pointed out.