UP govt asks Centre to provide 1,000 cr for rain-hit farmers

Uttar Pradesh government today asked the Centre to immediately release Rs 1,000 crore as relief to farmers hit by untimely rains and hailstorm in the state.
In a meeting with the central government delegation which is in the state to assess losses, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan asked for release of Rs 1,000 crore, an official statement issued here said.
The chief secretary informed the delegation that state government has so far sanctioned Rs 1,085 crore for immediate relief to farmers which has led to high burden on the government.
The funds available under the SDRF have also been distributed, he said.

A memorandum of Rs 774.28 crore was submitted to the central government on March 25 based on the losses assessed in 31 districts of the state, the chief secretary said, adding, the losses assessed till now of 41 districts are around Rs 1,078.68 crore and this amount will rise further if the losses are assessed as per the new norms set by the Centre.
Giving a detailed account of the steps taken by the state, Ranjan said the UP government has decided that officials not less than the level of SDM will conduct inquiry into cases of loss of lives due to natural calamity.

The central team led by Additional Secretary Agriculture and Cooperatives Ashish Kumar Bhutani which toured Unnao, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Badaun, Bareilly, Sambhal, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Etawah, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Banda, Mahoba and Jhansi districts has found that there had been massive losses to agriculture.
The team requested Ranjan to submit amended memorandum after reassessing the losses as per the new norms. They also took the farmers' feedback on the relief being distributed to them.