Around 87,000 farmers have reported crop damage over 3.28 lakh acres across the state on e-Fasal Kshatipurti Portal.

The Revenue and Disaster Management Department floated the portal on September 26, which is linked with ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’, after continuous rains damaged kharif crops, including paddy, guar, bajra and cotton, in the state. Farmers were told to make claims within 72 hours of the crop damage by entering khasra numbers.

It is mandatory to fill details such as cause, date and percentage of crop damage along with the status of insurance coverage for the respective khasra number by the farmer.

Till September 29, the maximum damage had been reported from Fatehabad. As many as 10,319 farmers complained of crop damage over 44,506 acres. It is followed by Rewari where 11,346 farmers reported damage over 40,442 acres.

The third most affected district is Ambala, where 6,424 farmers complained about damage to crops over 21,227 acres. In Kaithal, 4,819 farmers claimed damage over 20,633 acres while in Hisar, 4,589 farmers reported damage over 17,484 acres.

These farmers are not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), Mukhya Mantri Bagwani Bima Yojna (MMBBY) and Seed Development Programme.

As per the instructions issued on September 26, Deputy Commissioners (DCs) were asked to direct patwaris and kanungos to verify the claims of farmers received on the portal by uploading crop damage percentages and field photographs after conducting verifications.

Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) and Financial Commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management and Consolidation Departments, Varinder Singh Kundu said, “The patwaris and kanungos have to complete the verification within seven days. After that, the Tehsildar and the SDM will verify the claims within 10 days of the receipt of the reports from patwaris and kanungos.”

He added, “We believe that 90 to 95 per cent of farmers have uploaded the claims of crop damage. The compensation will be paid after harvesting, after comparing the output.”

Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com