Rs 125 crore relief approved for 1.35 lakh Buldhana farmers hit by unseasonal rain and floods

The state government has sanctioned more than Rs 125.44 crore in relief for farmers in Buldhana district whose farmland and crops were badly damaged by unseasonal rain, heavy rain and floods in March, June and July. Guardian Minister Makarand Jadhav-Patil gave the information.

The Relief and Rehabilitation Department issued three government resolutions on November 2. Under them, Rs 125 crore 44 lakh 58 thousand has been announced for 1,35,240 farmers of the district, covering 1,35,854.23 hectares of affected area.

Month-wise, Rs 1 crore 58 lakh 9 thousand has been sanctioned for 1,306 farmers whose crops were damaged by unseasonal rain in March, over 928 hectares. For June, 282 farmers whose farmland was damaged by heavy rain and floods will get Rs 8 lakh 76 thousand, for 48.64 hectares.

For July, Rs 10 crore 77 lakh 70 thousand has been sanctioned for 6,465 farmers whose farmland was damaged by heavy rain and floods, over 2,382.87 hectares. Also for July, Rs 113 crore 3 thousand has been provided for damage caused by heavy rain to 1,32,494.72 hectares belonging to 1,27,187 farmers.

The funds must be spent only for the natural disaster that caused the damage, the directions say. Once distribution is complete, the list of beneficiaries and details of the aid will be published on the district website. Banks have also been told to take the necessary care that aid already given is not adjusted against loan recovery.

The government has also asked that aid already given in the same season not be repeated. Aid should be paid only at the prescribed rates for a single loss in a single season, beneficiaries should face no difficulty, and the whole process should be carried out transparently.

The sanctioned funds will be disbursed from available provisions. Details of eligible farmers will be collected in the prescribed format and uploaded to a computerised system. The aid will then be credited directly to the farmers' bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.