Bhubaneswar: The state government has urged the Centre to amend the norms for sanctioning assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to provide support to farmers hit by natural disasters.
Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi wrote a letter to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba regarding this Wednesday.
In his letter Padhi said some districts of Orissa are facing drought and in some areas pests have caused serious problems. The state government has initiated various measures to deal with the problem and is providing an assistance package to affected farmers, he said.
As per the norms for assistance from SDRF and NDRF, farmers are eligible to get an agriculture input subsidy of `6,800 per hectare in rain-fed areas and `13,500 per hectare in areas under assured irrigation which is quite low compared to the losses suffered by them, the letter said.
“The state government, therefore, wants the agriculture input subsidy for farmers affected by disasters, especially in rain-fed areas, enhanced by at least 50 per cent. The minimum assistance to farmers should be fixed at `2,000 in rain-fed areas and `3,000 in irrigated areas,” the Chief Secretary said.
Similarly, the state government has urged Union Home Secretary Gauba to amend the norms governing SDRF and NDRF assistance so that the state can raise the money required to revive defunct lift irrigation points and the infrastructure damaged by natural disasters, out of the Fund.
Meanwhile, the state government has also submitted a memorandum to the Centre seeking `1713.75 crore for the development of agriculture and allied sectors.
Out of this, the state sought `408 crore for establishing a farmers’ counselling centre and regional pesticide testing laboratory, `277 crore for the creation of irrigation facilities, `594 crore for the fisheries and animal resources development department, `320 crore for long term drought mitigation measures by the water resources department, `5.4 crore for strengthening the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology and `7.89 crore for operationalising defunct projects of the Orissa Agro Industries Corporation.
“It is seen that while many press statements for supporting farmers have been made there is no response to the memorandum submitted by the Orissa government,” a press release issued by the government said.
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