Odisha CM Announces Package For Cyclone Yaas-Hit Farmers

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced a special package for the farmers who were badly hit by the devastating cyclone Yaas on May 26.

He asked the authorities concerned to immediately implement the directive.

The package announced by the Chief Minister is as follows:

Agriculture

—Small and marginal farmers, who have lost 33 per cent or more crops grown in the non-irrigated land, will be provided Rs 6800 input subsidy per hectare.
— Small and marginal farmers, who have lost 33 per cent or more crops grown in the irrigated land, will be provided Rs 13,500 input subsidy per hectare.
— Small and marginal farmers, who have lost 33 per cent or more perennial crops (mango, coconut, cashew, kewda and betel vines) grown in the non-irrigated land, will be provided Rs 18,000 input subsidy per hectare.
—The minimum input subsidy for the farmers, who have lost perennial crops, will be Rs 2000 and Rs 1000 for the farmers who have grown other crops.
—For the 2021 Kharif season, the affected farmers will get 25 per cent additional subsidy along with the previous subsidy and 1.5 lakh high-yielding paddy seeds. The subsidy amount will be credited to their account through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode.
—For more harvesting of Kharif crops in one lakh acres of land this year, one lakh farmers will be included in the seed sanitation programme.
—A demonstration programme for growing paddy, jute and cereals will be conducted in 25,000 acres of land in the affected districts.
—Farmers adopting modern farming will be provided an incentive of Rs 1500 per hectare.
—To apply pesticides in 60,000 hectares of standing crops, the input subsidy will be debited to the account of the farmers as per requirement.
—Rs 20 crore subsidy to the farmers of the affected districts towards the purchase of modern agri equipment
—The affected farmers will be provided 2000 pump sets and 3000 sprayers. While the pump sets will be provided with 50 per cent discount (Rs 15,000 maximum), there will be 50 per cent discount for the power sprayers (Rs 3800 maximum) and hand sprayers (Rs 750 maximum).
—The affected farmers of Bhadrak and Balasore districts, whose lands are damaged due to the ingress of saline water, will get the assistance of Rs 750 per hectare towards nutrient management and soil amelioration.
—Each of the 125 betel vine farmers will be provided a subsidy of Rs 15,000. The amount will be credited to their account through DBT.
—High-yielding vegetable saplings will be provided to 10,000 affected farmers at Rs 115 to grow them in the backyard of their house.
—Farmers of 50 damaged mushroom units will get Rs 40,000 each for the revival of their unit.
—The affected farmers will be provided 10,000 vegetable mini kits (Rs 110 per kit)
—To solve the demands of the affected farmers insured under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, steps will be taken to prepare the crop-cutting report at the earliest possible.
—The short-term loan of the farmers, who have sustained a crop loss of 33 per cent or more, will be converted to a medium-term loan.

Animal Resources

—Farmers who have lost their milch cows and buffaloes will get financial assistance of Rs 30,000, Rs 16,000 each for each calf (maximum 6 calves), Rs 3000 for 30 goats and sheep.

—The poultry farmers will be provided Rs 50 for each fowl (including hen, goose and duck).

—Financial assistance of Rs 2000 for the reconstruction of the damaged cowsheds.
—Rs 4100 assistance for the fishermen for the repair of boats that are partially damaged, Rs 9600 for construction of new boat, Rs 2100 for partially damaged fishing nets and Rs 2600 for completely damaged fishing nets.
—For de-siltation of the fish farms and fish seed farms, Rs 12,200 and Rs 8200 input subsidy per hectare will be provided.
—Input subsidy of Rs 4800 per hectare for eri, mulberry and tussar farmers and Rs 6000 per hectare for muga farmers.

Apart from this, the Chief Minister has also announced a special package for the affected handloom and handicraft artisans. As per the announcement, Rs 4100 will be provided to each artisan for the repair of their equipment and Rs 4100 to compensate for the loss of the raw materials.

The Chief Minister also announced that there will be massive creation of man-days under the MGNREGS scheme to provide jobs to the affected people in the repair and maintenance of the village roads, playgrounds and canal embankments to sustain the livelihoods of their family.

Apart from this, the eligible beneficiaries will be provided financial assistance for construction of houses as per the provisions in State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).