The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Centre urged to extend aid package

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 04, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Centre urged to extend aid package

Special Correspondent

State wants 13 more districts included in scheme to curb suicide by farmers

Rehabilitation package now covers six districts
Centre to provide Rs. 2,600 crore over three years

Bangalore: The State Government has written to the Centre to include 13 more districts under the special rehabilitation package announced for districts where a large number of suicides by farmers have been reported. The package, under which the Centre will provide Rs. 2,600 crore over a three-year period from 2006, at present covers Hassan, Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Belgaum, Shimoga and Kodagu.

Minister for Agriculture Bandeppa Kashempur told presspersons here on Tuesday that several other districts were seeing an increasing number of suicides by farmers, including Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Bellary and Kolar. In Bidar district alone, nearly 45 farmers had committed suicide in the past six months because of the sugarcane glut and the refusal of sugar factories to crush their sugarcane. The Government announced compensation for the losses suffered by sugarcane growers, but this had not helped prevent suicides.

Mr. Kashempur said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy would hold a high-level meeting shortly to finalise another package for the benefit of farmers. Directions had been issued to the Agriculture and Horticulture departments to provide all assistance to small and marginal farmers.

The Minister said agricultural insurance was another way to instil confidence among farmers. More farmers were choosing to insure their crops.

A sum of Rs. 138 crore was now being paid as insurance to farmers who had suffered losses during the kharif season. These farmers had paid a premium totalling Rs. 34 crore with the State and the Centre providing an equal contribution. A total of 7.92 lakh farmers had taken insurance cover during the last kharif season.

Mr. Kashempur said the Government was thinking of taking the panchayat instead of the hobli as the unit for calculation of insurance since compensation was based on crop yield in a given area and on individual claims.

Sowing on

Sowing in the current season, although slow owing to the delayed rains, was now in full swing. Of a total of 73 lakh hectares expected to be covered under the kharif crop, 21.50 lakh hectares had been sown as on June 30. It was around 25 lakh ha last year largely due to the early monsoon.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka