Special girdawari ordered to assess loss due to dry spell
With the monsoon playing truant in the region, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said the entire State has been declared as drought affected for Kharif 2014 and special girdawari (assessment) has been ordered to assess the loss caused due to continued dry spell.
Addressing a news conference after a meeting with senior officers of the State Government, Hooda said in case of more than 50 per cent damage to the crops of paddy and cotton, a compensation of Rs 4,000 per acre would be given. However, in case of damage to other crops, he said, it would be Rs 3,500 per acre. As compared to it, he said, the norms of the Central Government to give compensation are Rs 1,800 and Rs 3,600.
The State Government had earlier submitted a memorandum to the Central Government seeking a special package of Rs 4,829.75 crore and hoped that it would respond positively and send its team at the earliest to assess the loss.
Hooda said that according to the data collected from the India Meteorological Department for the period from June 1 to August 31, 2014, the State continued to experience more than 65 per cent rainfall deficit as compared to the normal average. Eighteen out of 21 districts in the State have received less than 50 per cent rainfall.
“Out of the special package sought from the Central Government, Rs 1,191.79 crore have been demanded to compensate the State Power Utilities alone who have been consistently maintaining an eight-hour supply for the agriculture tubewells for meeting the irrigation needs of farmers and save the crops, notwithstanding that power is being sourced at a very high rate,” he said. Hooda said that earlier, it was in 2002 that the state was declared as drought affected.
He said the Central Government’s scheme of diesel subsidy announced on August 4 suffers from serious issues of implementation and in the drought affected State, farmers would hardly be able to get any relief under it. The scheme envisaged 50 per cent subsidy on diesel to be shared in 50:50 ratio between the Centre and the States, with a cap of Rs 1,050 per hectare (Rs 420 per acre) for the entire Kharif season, which was not even a drop in the ocean, he added.