Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday released a fund of ₹23 crore to be paid as compensation to farmers in nine districts where crop damage due to recent hailstorm was reported to be the most, a government spokesman here said. The districts for which the fund has been released are Jalaun, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Saharanpur, Banda, Basti, Jhansi, Shamli and Chitrakoot.

“The highest compensation of ₹5 crore was allocated for Jalaun, while Lalitpur, Mahoba and Saharanpur were allocated ₹3 crore each, Banda, Basti, Jhansi, Shamli and Chitrakoot received ₹2 crore each. The survey of damaged crops in other districts is nearly complete and the process of compensating farmers is underway,” the spokesman said.

The CM approved the fund after reviewing the survey report of crop losses. Principal secretary, revenue, P Guruprasad said all district officials were instructed to conduct on-site assessments of fields following CM Yogi’s directive. The report on crops affected by excessive and untimely rainfall was submitted to the department.

According to Prasad, adverse weather conditions caused maximum damage to crops in the nine districts of the state. “In response, CM Yogi Adityanath promptly ordered immediate compensation for these districts,” he said. To note, more than 33% of the crops affected by floods, excessive rainfall and erratic weather conditions are eligible for compensation to the affected farmers.

Source - https://www.hindustantimes.com