Southern States - Karnataka   

Has Govt. violated relief norms?

By Our Staff Correspondent

Bidar Oct. 18. The State Government which waited for 59 days to take a decision on payment of compensation to farmers who lost their crop due to heavy rain in Aurad taluk, decided to release Rs. 40 lakh to 586 farmers on Friday, on the eve of the AICC President, Sonia Gandhi's brief stopover in Bidar.

The Government seems to have deviated from the norms to pay compensation to farmers by doing so.

Big farmers, who are not eligible for compensation under the norms, have also been compensated.

A sum of Rs. 2,500 a hectare for crop loss and Rs. 10,000 a hectare for soil erosion was given to farmers. The district in-charge Minister, Basavraj Patil Humnabad, toured Aurad taluk on Friday and distributed <129>compensation cheques to farmers.

The State, however, has sought assistance from the Centre to repair roads, bridges, and tanks damaged due to rain.

Standing crops in 12,500 acres of land were destroyed in heavy rain in Aurad taluk between August 21 and 25.

There was no prior intimation to the district administration about the distribution of compensation cheques.

Revenue and Agriculture officials prepared a list of beneficiaries within a few hours.

The Deputy Commissioner, T. Sham Bhat, is on leave from October 6.

The Bidar Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer, Naveen Raj Singh, assumed charge as Deputy Commissioner on Thursday, hours before estimates for compensation were prepared.

The MLAs, Ministers, and the KPCC president, B. Janardhana Poojary, who had visited the affected areas in Aurad taluk, promised the people that Ms. Sonia Gandhi would distribute compensation cheques to them. Though the Congress leaders claimed that Ms. Sonia Gandhi would conduct an aerial survey of affected areas, she did not do so.

She spent some time at the Air Force Station and left Bidar with the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde.

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