Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The state government Friday sought an additional `511 crore from the central government for agriculture input subsidy for crop loss.
“As per reports received from the collectors, due to sustained dry spell, more and more crop areas in the previously reported villages as well as new villages have come under the grip of drought. Taking these into account, cumulatively 13.41 lakh hectares of crop area in 215 blocks of 26 districts in the state have sustained crop loss of 33 per cent or more as on date,” said the memorandum submitted to the Centre by the Special Relief Commissioner.
As such, an additional amount of `511.507 crore is required as agriculture input subsidy for crop loss, the state told the Centre.
With this, the total requirement of funds towards the agriculture input subsidy has risen from `416.274 crore to `927.779 crore.
The state government had, in its interim memorandum on drought that was submitted to the Centre November 23, stated that 173 blocks of 25 districts had sustained crop loss of 33 per cent or more. The state had demanded central assistance of `1,687.561 crore for undertaking various disaster response measures, including payment of agriculture input subsidy. With the rise in the number of affected areas, the total demand of the state government has risen to `2,199.066 crore.
“The actual volume of crop loss will be ascertained after the crop cutting experiment of kharif paddy is over on the basis of which the state government will submit a final memorandum, if required,” the memo said.
The district that has been added to the list of drought affected areas is Deogarh, where crop loss of 33 per cent and more has been sustained over 5,768 hectares of crop have sustained, according to
the report.
