Friday, April 24, 2015

Relief Package to Farmers Affected by Unseasonal Rains and Hailstorms

In the month of February-March 2015 many States like Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Telangana & Kerala were hit by hailstorm followed by untimely rainfall. As per inputs received from States, State wise crop area affected due to hailstorm and unseasonal rains in country on the basis of preliminary assessment is given below:  

S.N. States Total Area (In Lakh hectare)
( as on 16 April 15)
1 Gujarat 1.75
2 Madhya Pradesh 5.70
3 Maharashtra 9.89
4 Rajasthan 16.89
5 Haryana 22.24
6 Punjab 2.94
7 Uttar Pradesh 29.64
8 Uttarakhand 0.39
9 Himachal Pradesh 0.67
10 Bihar 1.86
11 J&K 1.33
12 Telangana 0.01
13 Kerala 0.01
14 West Bengal 0.49

Total 93.81  

State Governments have been requested to take immediate steps to address the notified calamities by utilizing the funds under SDRF. States have also been advised to submit memorandum as per extant procedure/norms, if additional financial assistance is required from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and in the mean time utilize contingency fund of the State, if SDRF is exhausted. In addition, the calamity affected farmers are entitled for claims under various crop insurance schemes.