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Thiruvananthapuram, March 26 The State Cabinet on Wednesday announced a special assistance of Rs 10,000 per hectare for farmers who lost their paddy crop in the wake of record summer rains. Briefing newspersons at the end of a Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, said preliminary estimates have revealed that at least 1.4 lakh tonnes of paddy cultivated in a little more than 28,000 hectares were damaged in the rains.

The number of farmers affected was estimated to be 40,826, Mr Achuthanandan said. Proportionate compensation would be made available to farmers who suffered partial loss of their crop. The assistance would be distributed to the beneficiaries from Thursday onwards. Most of the damage was reported from low-lying Kuttanad belt in central Kerala, known as the rice bowl of the State. Standing crops in over 17,000 hectares were destroyed here.

District Collectors have been asked to collate reports on the damage inflicted on other crops, such as mango, cashew, banana and pepper, for consideration of compensation. An amount of Rs 12 crore has already been sanctioned for payment of compensation, but another Rs 13 crore would have to be raised to meet the entire needs of farmers, the Chief Minister said. The Cabinet also decided to promulgate nine ordinances, including the Kerala farmers Debt Relief Commission (Amendment) order, 2007. Among those to be re-promulgated are Kerala Handloom Workers Welfare Fund (Amendment); Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment); Kerala Cooperative Societies (amendment); and the Kerala High Court Services (Determination of Retirement Age).

More Stories on : Natural Calamities | Agricultural Policy | Kerala

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Cabinet nod for farm debt relief fund likely today

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