Jaipur: Farmer unions in Rajasthan have written to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, demanding compensation for crops damaged by heavy rains.According to farmers, excessive rainfall resulted in 75% to 90% damage to crops in most areas. Despite this, the govt continued to collect insurance premiums from farmers under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’, they said.Kisan Mahapanchayat president Rampal Jat said that due to excessive rainfall and drought this year, most of the Kharif crops were damaged, ranging from 75% to 90%. He wrote that despite the Disaster Management Act coming into effect in 2005, which provides for Disaster Relief Funds at the state and central levels, assistance is not provided even after crops are damaged by natural disasters.He said, “The state govt must ensure compensation for crop losses to farmers through the Disaster Relief Fund under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The approved amount has not been provided to farmers, and its payment should be expedited.”Jay also said govts have adopted discriminatory policies in purchasing crops with declared MSP. “Even though Rajasthan is the top millet producer in the country, not a single grain of millet has been purchased in the last 14 years. Before this, only nominal purchases were made in 2004-05 and 2011-12. Pulses and oilseeds like moong, gram, mustard, groundnut, and soybean are excluded from the purchase scope for 75% of the state’s total production. The govt is not even prepared to purchase the remaining 25%. Even the purchases that are made are not free from exploitation,” he said.
