Nitin Gadkari-led team takes stock of crop damage in UP

Team visited three western UP districts of Agra, Aligarh and Meerut and held meeting with local farmers

A central government team led by road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari visited Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday to assess crop damage from the unseasonal rain and hail. The team visited three western UP districts of Agra, Aligarh and Meerut. The state government says about 40 of the 75 districts are affected. The team also discussed the land acquisition issue with farmers, in the backdrop of the opposition parties’ front against the central government plan to amend the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

Haryana rolls out initiatives for farmers
In Haryana, the government has rolled out initiatives to help farmers take loans and buy inputs for the kharif season.

Addressing bankers, P K Das, principal secretary said: “The loss can be as high as 15 to 20 per cent of the total produce.” He advised them to go easy on farmers by extending interest subvention, moratorium of 24 months, restructure crop loans and extend repayment periods.

Six-month freeze on recovery of farmer loans in Uttarakhand
The Uttarakhand government has put a six-month moratorium on recovery of loans taken by farmers from cooperative banks in view of the damage caused to their crops by intermittent showers and inclement weather.

Chief Secretary N Ravishankar said the interest amount on such loans for the period will be paid by the state government to cooperative banks.