The Maharashtra government today informed the Bombay High Court that it had disbursed Rs 2,810 crore to 31,76,320 farmers affected by unseasonal hailstorm in several districts of the state early this year.
Of the total Rs 2,810 crore disbursed, Rs 2,548 crore were credited directly to bank accounts of the affected farmers, Counsel for state government Milind More told a bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha.
Expressing satisfaction over the steps taken by the government to mitigate the sufferings of the hailstorm-hit farmers, the bench disposed of PILs seeking compensation from the state and the Centre for the destruction of crops due to the natural calamity.
The petitions, filed by farmers Ajay Marathe, Gopal Ghadge and Prashant Hire, contended that land ad-measuring over 17 lakh hectares was affected in the natural calamity.
Summer crops like rice, jowar, wheat, vegetables, onion, corn, sugarcane, maize, groundnuts, and horticultural products like banana, pomegranate, grapes, orange, papaya, mango and sweet lime were damaged, the court was informed.
"The loss of crops, which were about to be harvested and taken to the market for sale, worked out to Rs 42,000 crore approximately," the PIL claimed.
The government had informed the court earlier that it had declared a relief package of Rs 4,000 crore to the farmers and they would be exempted from paying electricity bills for six months.
