The ruling BJP government in Rajasthan today assured the state assembly that rabi crop damaged in the state due to fog, frost and rain in the winter season would be surveyed and assessed in the next 15 days in a joint operation of Revenue and Agriculture Departments.
Speaking during the zero hour, state's Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said the state government would provide relief to small and marginal farmers whose crop got damaged due to inclement weather as per the state calamity relief fund and also through crop insurance after the actual assessment.
A major crop of coriander sown in 1.28 lakh hectares of agri land in Kota division was perished, and as per preliminary survey the very crop perished completely in 35,000 hectares, the Minister said.
Earlier during question hour, on a question of BJP's Sanjeev Kumar on bad roads in villages and big towns, the PWD Minister Yunus Khan alleged that the previous Congress government was more interested in "vote bank priority" than any interest in road patch work.
At least 45 roads in every assembly constituency were in very bad shape or not existed despite the previous Congress government crossed the ceiling limit of road works, Khan further alleged.
A separate DPR for repair of every road in the state would be prepared by February 28, and for this the BJP government recently approved a fund of Rs 4,000 crore, Khan said.
On the issue of four-laning of National Highway-65, Khan said the matter would be taken up with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and firms constructing it.
On yet another question of BJP's Babu Singh, PHED Minister S L Jat assured the house that new hand pumps would be dug in the areas shown acute water shortage.
On ruling members' objections on water schemes, the Minister said there were some irregularities in completion of water works and many of them were delayed because of contractors' attitude.
