Relief for Madhya Pradesh farmers

State govt defers loan repayments, partially waives power bills after hailstorm damaged crops

The Madhya Pradesh government has deferred recovery of crop loans, apart from a partial waiving of crop-loan interest and power bills after a recent hailstorm damaged the wheat crop in the state.

According to official estimates, the hailstorm hit about 7 lakh hectares, affecting about an equal number of farmers and killing 24 persons.

Earlier, eight persons had died because of bad weather, taking the toll to 32.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has also demanded a special package from the Centre to compensate for the losses resulting from the hailstorm. The Chief Minister has also assured that horticulture farmers and spice growers would also be considered under the crop-loss assessments.

"We have waived power bills of farmers by about 50 per cent and have deferred immediate payment of the bills. The farmers will have to pay no surcharge on power bills," he said. "As of now, we have deferred repayment of loans. Our government was already offering short-term crop loans at zero per cent interest, and we would convert short-term crop loans to medium-term, repay interest for the first three years and farmers would be allowed to defer repayments since the entire state has been badly affected."

Terming the condition of crop "very good" before the hailstorm, Chauhan said his government was expecting a bumper crop this year due to adequate power supply. "My government would pay half the power bills, and the farmers will have to pay the rest in 10 equal monthly installments, as per their convenience," he said.

"We have begun a survey and the final figures for the damage will emerge only after 20th of this month. It would be huge, as farmers had already lost their crops to an extent of Rs 1,390 crore due to frequent bad weather."

Compensation criterion
Irrespective of how the central government classifies crop losses, Chauhan said his government would consider the loss of half of the crop as "total damage" and would compensate accordingly.

"The Centre pays Rs 8,000 per hectare for wheat crop loss, if it was above75 percent, but we will pay Rs 10,000 per hectare, if it was above 50 per cent." Chauhan is embarking on a tour to assess crop losses.

He said he would soon meet the prime minister and demand a Maharashtra-like special package for Madhya Pradesh.