BENGALURU: The state government on Thursday released an additional Rs 1,033.60-crore input subsidy to farmers whose crops have been damaged due to heavy rain.
Speaking after initiating the process of transferring money directly to the bank accounts of 14.24 lakh farmers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that his government has increased the input subsidy to be extended to farmers for crop loss.
It has been increased from Rs 8,500 to Rs 17,000 per hectare for rain-fed crops, from Rs 17,000 to Rs 25,000 per hectare for crops under irrigation and from Rs 22,500 to Rs 31,000 per hectare for perennial crops. Each farmer will get this subsidy for up to two hectares of land, Siddaramaiah said.
As per NDRF norms, the state government has already provided Rs 1,218.03 crore input subsidy to 14.24 lakh farmers. In all, Rs 2,251.63 crore has been transferred to farmers’ bank accounts.
Siddaramaiah said crops in nine districts, including Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar, have been damaged due to heavy rain. A memorandum has been submitted to the prime minister, seeking release of Rs 614.90-crore input subsidy for crop loss and compensation, and Rs 1,521.67 crore to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. An inter-ministerial team from the Union government is likely to visit the state soon, he added.