Agartala: Tripura Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday said that approximately 1,96,000 farmers affected by untimely rains in the state last November and December are being considered for compensation.

“Due to the untimely rains during these two months, a total compensation proposal of Rs 28.72 crores has been submitted by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare to the State Revenue Department and the relevant insurance companies,” said the Minister.

He explained that the untimely rains on November 16 to 18 and December 6 to 8, 2023, damaged farmers' crops, especially paddy and vegetables.

“Officers and workers from the State Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, with the assistance of the tri-level panchayat, promptly visited the affected areas, assessed the initial damage, and reported it to higher authorities and insurance companies. Subsequently, the list of affected farmers at the village, block, and district levels, along with the amount of land and percentage of crop loss, was calculated to provide assistance to affected farmers under the SDRF/NDRF scheme. Furthermore, the number of affected farmers enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the extent of the loss were determined through a joint survey involving officials, employees, and representatives of insurance companies. The insurance companies then took appropriate initiatives to provide quick compensation to the actual affected farmers following the project guidelines,” he explained.

The Agriculture Minister stated in the Assembly that, according to the policy guidelines of SDRF/NDRF, if a farmer's crop is damaged by over thirty-three percent, that person is eligible for compensation.

“Following this guideline, a total compensation proposal of Rs 27.58 lakh 82 thousand has been sent from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to the State Revenue Department for assistance from SDRF/NDRF to 97,947 farmers affected by untimely rains in November and December. Additionally, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a total of 3,013 affected farmers have been considered for compensation when their crops were left on the land after the untimely rains in November and December. Among them, 874 farmers in November and 2,139 farmers were considered for compensation in December,” he added.

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