Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday met the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in New Delhi and appraised him of the unprecedented adverse weather conditions resulting in wide spread calamity caused due to frost in 20 districts and hailstorm in 40 districts of the state.
He said that as per preliminary estimates these calamities have resulted in a cumulative loss of Rs 2,000 crore, crops on 7,500 hectares land has been damaged.
As many as 13,500 villages have been affected, 29 lives have been lost and about 300 cattle have perished. Chouhan urged the Union Minister for a special package worth Rs 500 crore, as has been given to Maharashtra.
He said that this special package should be over and above the normal allocation under SDRF. This package will help the farmers to buy seeds and fertilizers.
Chouhan said that the State Government has taken several immediate steps to tackle worsening the situation. The government is taking the responsibility for deferring the interest on the loans given to farmers, burden for medium term conversion loan and stopping the recovery of loan from the farmers.
He said that the Government of India norms allow relief distribution only in cases of crop losses where crop loss is more than 50 per cent.
He requested the Union Minister for making provision for release under SDRF in cases of crop loss between 25 to 50 per cent also.
He called for making the norms more practical and viable. He also asked for paying the market prices of the destroyed crops.
Chouhan pointed out to the Union Agriculture Minister the new norms to be included in the AIBP scheme which means that the grant given to the State Governments will be on their last priority, State Government will spend 50 per cent of the total cost, grant will be given to the projects which have completed the 50 per cent work of the total project are some of the main recommendations.
He expressed his concern that these changes will adversely effect the irrigation capacity of the country and the bonus of this will solely lies with the State Government. The State Government on the other hand with their limited resources will not be able to deliver much. This will have a cascading affect on the food security of the country. Chouhan called for maintaining 90:10 ratio instead of the proposed 50:50 ratio under AIBP.