Jharkhand farmers, who have been suffering from continuous drought, have received some relief. Due to low rainfall this year, it has been recommended to declare 158 blocks in 17 districts of Jharkhand as drought-affected areas. This will benefit around 1.4 million farmers in the state. The Chief Minister has also directed to provide immediate relief of INR 3500 per farmer to those affected by drought, similar to last year. These are the farmers whose crops have been damaged up to 33% due to low rainfall.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority was held in the Jharkhand Secretariat on Wednesday. In light of the report from the Agriculture Department, it was recommended to declare these 158 blocks as drought-affected areas. The Chief Minister directed the Disaster Management Department to prepare a proposal for declaring these blocks as drought-affected areas, so that it can be presented for approval in the Cabinet meeting.
The Chief Minister instructed the officials of the Disaster Management Department to send a proposal to the central government for the availability of financial assistance, so that the economically affected farmers can be provided with financial aid. The Chief Minister also directed the officials to take appropriate steps to provide relief to the farmers affected by drought.
Agriculture Minister Badal has said that 1.4 million farmers in the state have applied for drought relief funds. They will benefit from this. He said that the government will pay INR 3500 per farmer as drought relief. He also mentioned that 142 blocks in 17 districts of Jharkhand have been categorized as drought-affected, while a re-survey report has been requested for the Deoghar and Godda districts. If these two districts are also included, the number of declared drought-affected blocks will reach 158. The government will also soon consider the loan waiver scheme for NPAs account holders.
The meeting was attended by Disaster Minister Banna Gupta, Agriculture Minister Badal, Chief Secretary L. Khiyangte, Principal Secretary Ajay Kumar Singh, Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Vinay Kumar Choubey, Secretary of the Disaster Management Department Amitabh Kaushal, Agriculture Secretary Abubakar Siddiqui, and Special Secretary of the Agriculture Department Pradeep Hazari.
Affected districts include Chatra, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Dumka, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Jamtara, Khunti, Hazaribagh, Kodarma, Latehar, Pakur, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ramgarh, and Ranchi.
झारखंड में इस वर्ष भी कम बारिश की वजह से 17 जिलों के 158 प्रखंडों को सुखाड़ क्षेत्र घोषित करने की अनुशंसा की गई है। इससे राज्य के लगभग 14 लाख किसानों को फायदा मिलेगा। मुख्यमंत्री ने गत वर्ष की भांति इस वर्ष भी सुखाड़ से प्रभावित किसानों को तत्काल राहत के तौर पर 3500 रुपए प्रति किसान अनुग्रहित राशि देने का निर्देश दिया। मुख्यमंत्री हेमंत सोरेन ने आपदा प्रबंधन विभाग को इन प्रखंडों को सुखाड़ क्षेत्र घोषित करने संबंधी प्रस्ताव तैयार करने का निर्देश दिया। कृषि मंत्री बादल ने बताया कि राज्य के 14 लाख किसानों को सरकार सुखाड़ राहत के तौर पर प्रति किसान 3500 रुपए का भुगतान करेगी।
