January 6, 2020
Bangla Govt distributes Rs 160 crore to Bulbul-affected farmers
The State has provided compensation to 4.66 lakh farmers, affected by cyclone Bulbul, so far. The State Government has spent Rs 160.28 crore for this, till date. The cheques have been prepared for another batch of 6.28 lakh farmers, for which the amount of compensation will be around Rs 219 crore.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had instructed the administration to expedite the process of compensation for the affected farmers belonging to the districts of North and South Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Howrah, and Hooghly. Accordingly, the Finance Department issued the required funds to the Department of Agriculture.
A sum of Rs 13,500 has been fixed as compensation per hectare of land. A minimum of Rs 1,000 (for small land) and a maximum of Rs 27,000 is being given to the affected farmers. The money is directly transferred to the bank account of the farmers.
It may be mentioned that a delegation of the central government had visited the State on December 6-7 to inspect the Bulbul-affected areas. After a meeting with them, the Chief Secretary had submitted a request for compensation to the tune of Rs 23,811 crore. However, the Centre is yet to give a penny.
Source: Bartaman
