Govt releases funds under Suvarna Bhoomi

The state government has so far deposited Rs 114.77 crore into bank accounts of 280,000 farmers under the Suvarna Bhoomi project to help them to purchase agricultural inputs for farming operations, Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti said on Thursday.

The government has so far released Rs 114.77 crore out of Rs 150 towards earmarked for the project in the first phase, he told reporters here. The government in its 2011-12 budget had promised Rs 10,000 assistance to small and marginal farmers and Rs 5,000 has been disbursed to farmers in the first phase, Katti said.

The remaining Rs 5,000 would be given by next month end, he said. Following deficient rainfall in parts of the state, about 4.97 million hectares has come under sowing this khariff.

As against the target of 7.46 million hectares. There was no shortage of fertiliser and sowing seeds in the state, he said.