With standing crops on more than five lakh hectares damaged owing to excess rainfall in October and November, the State Congress has demanded the government pay compensation of ₹10,000 per acre to farmers.
KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar and MLA and former Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Wednesday held a press conference and urged the State Government to immediately commence the survey to assess damage to crops. Tahsildars have to receive applications and compensation should be disbursed to farmers in a month, they said.
Mr. Shivakumar appealed to party workers to go to farmers and collect their applications and submit them to officials concerned for payment of compensation.
They alleged that insurance companies had “looted” the farmers and the State Government’s share in the insurance premium paid by denying insurance to farmers citing various reasons. The government has “kneeled down” before the insurance firms, they alleged, and said farmers had not benefited from the Fasal Bima Yojana, a crop insurance scheme. Such insurance firms should be blacklisted and debarred from operations, they said.
They also demanded waiver of collection of land revenue this year from farmers who had lost crops owing to heavy rains. Mr. Shivakumar said the party’s delegation would call on Governor Thawarchand Ghelot on Thursday and submit a memorandum on the government’s failure to respond to farmers’ difficulties.
Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah met some rain-hit farmers at Bangarpet constituency and heard their grievances.
