The state government's decision to convert the short-term loans into the medium-term category following a 50% decline in rabi crop yield will assist farmers at 355 villages in Ahmednagar district of Nashik division.

"The list of rabi crop villages, where less than 50% crop cultivation and cutting experiment was recorded in 2013-14, from the division was sent to the state government. On November 19, the government issued a communication to the co-operative department, asking it to look into the situation and convert the short-term loans into medium-term loans," a senior officer in the revenue department said.

The government announced five-point relief to villages affected by scarcity-like situation. This is declared on the basis of crop cultivation and cutting experiment carried out at every revenue village in the state. The experiment forms the basis of identifying the agricultural yield pattern in the village for the government.

"Based on the experiment, the revenue commissionerate had identified 355 villages from Ahmednagar district that had recorded yields less than 50% for the rabi crop. The district has 1,018 villages where rabi crop is cultivated. The report on it was sent to the government, which had declared a scarcity-like situation on June 24, 2014. The villages concerned will now get all relevant benefits, including the conversion of loans," the officer said.

Altogether 484 villages across the state have been included in the "scarcity-like-situation" category, of which 355 are in Ahmednagar alone and 88 are in Solapur district.

The officer said other benefits were already extended to the villages where there was a scarcity-like situation. These benefits include exemption from payment of land taxes. "During the year, there were no other villages in the division that were affected because of better rainfall and climatic conditions. There were unseasonal rainfall during the year, but that is not considered as far as scarcity-like or drought-like situation is concerned," the officer said.

Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar districts did not have any village that was classified in the "scarcity-like situation" category. However, there were some villages that were affected by hailstorm sand unseasonal rain. The aid to those villages was given as and when the government announced it.

"While the decision on other government assistance was implemented upon, the issue of conversion of loan was yet to be brought into effect. The government guidelines will now ease the process as the respective departments will take efforts towards conversion of loans," the officer added.

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/