Beseiged by heavy rains and flash floods the Marathwada region which consists of the districts Beed, Latur, Nanded and Osmanabad lost crops planted over a million hectares. CM Devendra Fadnavis stated at a special meeting on Tuesday, at the Aurangabad Divisional Commisioner's Office, that all farmers will be compensated for the crop damages. While soybean farmers had lost crops across a million hectares, Tur, Cotton and Jowar growers did not suffer as bad with only five lakh hectares of arable land being destroyed by the floods. At least 17 people were killed in the flash floods as dams overflowed and heavy rains lashed the agricultural region. The cabinet meeting held by Fadnavis reviewed the flood situation and at a press conference conducted later, the CM promised Rs 4 lakhs to the family of the deceased while other farmers were promised compensation for the loss of their livestock as per norms. He also informed that the state Government will provide money to rebuilding roads, bridges and return power to the region.   Fadnavis informed that 78% of the farmers from Marathwada are covered under Pradhanmantri crop insurance scheme and that the state Government would be providing compensation for the remaining 22 per cent farmers by approaching NDRF (National Disaster Relief Fund). He also said that since the entire region has received excessive rainfall, there is no need for Panchanama to assess crop damage. The report by the committee to the District Collector would be enough for providing compensation. An official informed that there are 1.38 crore farmers registered in the entire state while Marathwada region has 3.5 million farmers all of whom have suffered crop damage from the flash floods. Out of these 3.5 million, there are 27.30 lakh farmers who have availed Pradhanmantri crop insurance scheme while 7.70 lakh farmers will needed to be compensated by state and Centre through NDRF. The state Government will prepare a proposal for compensation from NDRF for these farmers as soon as the rain stops in the region. Source - http://www.dnaindia.com