As farmers in parts of north India grapple with damage to standing rabi crop caused by untimely rain, the Centre has revised the overall affected area down to 106 lakh hectares from the initial 181 lakh hectares. The Janata Dal (United) reacted sharply, accusing the government of “pressuring” States to scale down the affected area.
Though reports on the damage are still being collected, preliminary assessment is that nearly three per cent of the standing crop, including horticulture, is likely to be affected. Of this, the preliminary loss to wheat is estimated at about one per cent.
The revision by the Centre, according to official sources, came when some States scaled down the area affected after a spot assessment. The Uttar Pradesh government, for instance, brought down the affected area from the initial 97 lakh hectares to 24 lakh hectares in the memorandum it submitted to the Agriculture Ministry on Monday. The State has sought Rs. 744 crore for relief measures.
“I am worried about the condition of farmers who suffered losses and the damage is still being assessed,” Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told TheHindu . States have been advised to utilise an additional10 per cent of the funds available to them under the State Disaster Relief Fund as immediate Central assistance.
Mr. Singh and Health Minister J.P. Nadda are visiting Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday for spot assessment. There has been damage to horticulture, including apple orchards, in the State. Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Punjab in this connection.
Standing wheat and mustard crops have been hit badly in Rajasthan, while wheat crop has been affected in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra has suffered losses in horticulture crop, including grapes, pomegranate, onions and mango.
The 14 States that have reported crop damage in varying proportions include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Baliyan will visit Haryana, which has reported damage to standing wheat crop on 17.5 lakh hectares, on Tuesday.