Gurgaon: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday assured farmers whose crops have been damaged by unseasonal rains and hailstorms that they will get adequate compensation.
According to a statement released by his office, Khattar described the parameters fixed for compensation by the previous government as a "joke" and assured that his government would do more.
Khattar also said BJP MLAs were visiting fields to assess the damage and asked those of other parties to also do the same.
"If you (farmers) do not feel satisfied with assessment of the loss made by Patwari, you can reach the SDO of the Agriculture Department, SDM, Deputy Commissioner or local MLA and tell them about the exact loss," Khattar told reporters.
A statement released by his office said the Chief Minister assured that farmers would get enhanced compensation.
Khattar said the matter also came up for discussion at the BJP National Executive meeting at Bengaluru.
"The assessment of loss to the crops in the state was put at Rs 1,137 crore when the Union Ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Sanjeev Baliyan visited Haryana," Khattar said and added that since rain persisted even after their visit, the losses must have increased.
He said Deputy Commissioners had been directed to complete the girdawari by April 15 and compensation would be awarded to the farmers within 30 days of receipt of the report, the statement said.
He said the cheques being given now relate to the losses suffered last year and the year before and are based on the parameters fixed by the previous government which is quite a "joke".
"Earlier, the farmers used to get Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 in the form of compensation, but now the state government has decided that the compensation cheque would not be for less than Rs 500," he said.
