Dehradun: Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday announced fresh measures to provide relief to rain-hit farmers in the state including free distribution of seeds among them and an increased subsidy on ginger and turmeric seeds.
These measures which also include 75 percent subsidy on turmeric and ginger seeds are in addition to the six-month waiver of interest on loans taken by farmers from cooperative banks announced by the state government earlier, Rawat told reporters here.
Subsidy provided to farmers on ginger and turmeric seeds earlier stood at 50 percent.
"A seed mini kit will be provided for free to all farmers and horticulturists and a 75 percent subsidy will be given to farmers who want to grow turmeric and ginger," he said.
The Chief Minister also clarified that the reliefs announced by the state government apply to both farmers and horticulturists as garden cultivation in the state has also suffered because of unseasonal rains and inclement weather.
Besides, a revolving fund of Rs 25 crore has been allocated to the agriculture and horticulture department to come to the aid of farmers wherever required, he said.
The state government has taken a slew of steps recently to provide respite to farmers including a six-month moratorium on recovery of revenue and irrigation dues from them besides a waiver of electricity surcharge and interest on their loans taken from cooperative banks.
Demanding similar measures from the Centre, it has written to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh asking them to assess the damage to crops in Uttarakhand on their own and exempt farmers of the state from paying interest on their loans taken from nationalised banks for the next six months.
