Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that State’s budget of all departments has been curtailed by 15 per cent to extend assistance to drought-hit farmers. Chouhan addressed farmers’ Chaupal at village Araniya Kalan in Shajapur district on Monday.
Chouhan said that he is himself a farmer and therefore, understands their sufferings. He said that all possible assistance would be provided to farmers. State Government has curtailed budget of departments by 15 per cent for relief to farmers. Farmers will not be allowed to face any problem even if no bridges, culverts or roads are constructed for one year.
He said that extensive crop cutting experiments have been made on a war-footing in villages to assess actual crop loss. Insurance claim amounts will be provided on its basis. Chouhan informed that Ministers, IAS, IFS and IPS officers have been sent to villages for three days for spot inspections of crop loss. Decision will be taken by the state government after submission of report by them.
The Chief Minister said that orders have been given to suspend loan recovery from farmers who have suffered heavy loss. Short-term loans have been converted to medium-term ones and the state government will also pay interest for one year to save affected farmers the burden. He said that transformer will be installed on deposit of 10 percent amount. Orders would be released soon to provide two-month temporary connections to farmers.
The Chief Minister informed that farmers will be provided total Rs7,000 crore including Rs3,000 crore for assistance for crop loss, Rs3000 crore of crop insurance and Rs1000 against loan interest. large-scale relief works would also be started to ensure that farmers get employment in drought-hit areas. The Chief Minister also assured to make available funds demanded by Shajapur district.