CM orders total loans to farmers on Rabi

Describing the incessant rains which have ravaged parts of the state during the past few days as a ‘natural calamity’, the government on Monday declared that it would give ‘total’ loans for the Rabi crop to farmers in the affected districts, in light of the damages or losses accrued by the farmers.

Speaking to media persons at the Secretariat on Monday, Minister for Agriculture N Raghuveera Reddy revealed that the state government has decided to sanction subsidy of Rs 5 per kilo on paddy to the farmers in view of heavy rains that battered the crops in the coastal districts.

Preliminary estimates say that 3,22,000 hectares of paddy crop was lost due to the cyclone, while 2,84,000 hectares of paddy crop was damaged.

Mr Raghuveera Reddy had earlier in the day attended a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister K Rosaiah on the situation in the coastal districts. The meeting reviewed the situation due to the cyclonic storm ‘Jal’ and the Ministers and officials had arrived at the preliminary estimates of the losses.

The Agriculture Minister explained that, generally for paddy seeds there was no subsidy but the Chief Minister has ordered to extend the subsidy in view of the heavy losses incurred by the farmers.

There was also a necessity to reschedule the loans to the farmers wherever required, he stated.

Mr Rosaiah also declared the incessant rains to be a ‘Natural Calamity’ in the mandals in the districts.

Similarly, the Chief Minister ordered that the tenant farmers also be given government support in respect of crop insurance, loans, subsidy on seeds among others.

The government also heaved a sigh of relief as the cyclone weakened and the losses were minimal, despite the heavy rains in the flood affected districts this morning.