Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday approved a scheme for compensating farmers for crop loss caused due to natural calamities in the kharif-2021 season. Under the 'Kisan Sahay Yojna - 2021', the state government will compensate farmers for crop damage in the kharif season (June to November) without collecting any premium or registration fees, said an official release. This will give farmers option to join or not to join the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, a national insurance scheme for farmers. Farmers often complain that insurance companies do not provide enough relief for crop loss in natural calamities in spite of paying premiums. To take benefit of the new scheme, farmers can apply online using a dedicated portal, which will be launched soon, said the release. The natural calamities which can damage crops are drought, excessive rains, unseasonal rains or even cyclone. For crop damage ranging from 33 to 60 per cent, farmer will be entitled to get a compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare. A farmer can claim compensation for a maximum of 4 hectares, said the release. For over 60 per cent crop damage, the government would pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 per hectare with a cap of 4 hectares. The new scheme would prove beneficial for over 53 lakh farmers in the state, including marginal as well as tribal agriculturists, the release quoted the CM as saying. Apart from the compensation offered under this scheme, the farmers will be entitled to get compensation as per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms if crop damage falls in that criteria, it said. The state government will soon release a toll free number for farmers who need more information about the scheme, said the release. Source - https://in.news.yahoo.com