PATNA: The two spells of hailstorm recently have caused 33% and more damage to wheat, gram, maize and other crops in 19,642 hectares of cropped land in the eight districts of the state, warranting payment of compensation to affected farmers concerned, the state agriculture department maintained.
The hailstorm struck the standing crops on March 29 & 30 and April 6 & 7. Overall, the aforesaid standing crops suffered damages in 21,183 hectares of land, including 19,642 hectares registering 33% and more damages and other chunk of 1,541 hectares with less than that. No compensation is paid for less than 33% damage caused to the crops.
The compensation is paid both for the crop damages suffered in both rain-fed (non-irrigated) plots of land that yield one crop a year and the chunks of irrigated land that yield two crops a year.
“As per the standing norms, the rate of compensation is Rs12,500 per hectare against the damage, but there is a ceiling on that, implying that the compensation can be paid only for crop damages in 2 hectares of land,” said disaster management department additional secretary Anirudh Kumar.
The first spell of hailstorm damaged crops in Bhojpur (381 hectares),
Jehanabad (0.08 hectares), Sitamarhi (2,920 hectares) and Kishanganj (108 hectares) districts. However, the damages caused by the second spell were extensive with 7,040 hectares in
Gopalganj district, 3,006.5 hectares in
Muzaffarpur, 4,228 hectares in Vaishali and 3,500 hectares in
Samastipur district.
However, the estimate of the damages caused has been prepared on the basis of initial reports from the districts concerned, as the district agriculture officers (DAGs) were asked to give the initial estimates based on feedbacks culled from the ‘Kisan Salahkars’ who work at the panchayat level and agriculture coordinators active at block level.
“The figure regarding the estimate is tentative. The actual situation will be known only when the details of the actual damages suffered are collected and calculated from the village upwards to the panchayat, block and district levels in the districts concerned,” said an agriculture department official, adding the final figures would be available only after one and a half month (after mid-May), and the situation is being reviewed “at the highest level in the department.”
Earlier on April 7, state agriculture department minister Prem Kumar had asked the district agriculture officials concerned to soon assess the crop damages caused by hailstorm and strong easterly winds. However, as per the central and state norms of compensation, the affected farmers could be compensated only against
crop damage caused by hailstorm.
Representative image
