Jaitley assures central help for rain-affected farmers

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who on Sunday met rain and hailstorm-affected farmers in Rajasthan, assured the state that the central government would provide all possible help for providing relief to the affected farmers.

"There is also a need for change in the norms for disaster relief," Jaitley said while talking to media after meeting Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje here.

After visiting the affected areas in Kota and Bundi districts, he held a high-level meeting with Raje, where state ministers and senior officials were also present.

"Rajasthan has suffered massive loss of human lives, livestock, crops and houses due to rains and hailstorm and the union government would provide all possible help to the state government at the earliest," Jaitley said.

Noting the state government sought additional means as well as some relaxations in disaster management norms to deal with situation, he said they "will consider these demands".

In the meeting, Raje said that tomato, orange, mustard, coriander, cumin and some other crops have been totally damaged in the state.

She said that amendments in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) provisions would go a long way in providing relief to the farmers.

Kota, Bundi and nearby districts have been worst affected by rain and hailstorms that hit the desert state in March's second week.

Officials said 25 people have died and 50 percent or more crops in over 3,000 villages have been damaged.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot in a statement urged Jaitley to provide maximum support to the state so the affected farmers could be helped adequately.