Speaking of the predicament of the farmers who having lost their standing crops due to unseasonal rain are now burning what are left of them in a fit of despair, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said he had asked the officials to reach the hapless farmers immediately with the compensation. He said he had made sure the amount is not less than Rs 1000. Quizzed over the observer to be sent by the Centre to assess the quantum of the damages, the CM said the norms for providing compensation to the affected must be generous. “It is human nature that the people would want to save whatever can be saved for the next harvest. Such a tendency should not bar them from getting compensation,” he added.
“So far we have allocated Rs 28 crore to be disbursed as compensation to the farmers to cover the losses they have incurred. On this count, the state government will have to bear an extra burden of Rs 60 crore, which will be spent on giving subsidy on seeds to be distributed among the farmers. For ginger and turmeric seeds, the state government would give 75 percent grant to the farmers,” he assured.