Farmers Hit by Unseasonal Rains, Hailstorms to Get Relief Package

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:

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.

(Area: In Lakh ha)

This information was given by the Minister of State for Agriculture Sh.Mohanbhai Kundaria in Rajya Sabha today.