About 63.99 lakh hectares of farmland has been affected by floods in 15 States, while 7.91 lakh hectares of agriculture land has been hit by drought in two States so far in the ongoing 2019-20 crop year (July-June), Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday.

“There have been extreme weather events in the recent past, including extended dry period, flood, hailstorm, cyclonic rains and wind, etc. However, there was no significant reduction in the production of foodgrains during last three years,” Tomar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

As per the report of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) constituted by the Centre, an estimated area of 63.99 lakh hectares was affected by floods in 15 States during 2019-20, he said.

These States are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, he added. Due to drought, the Minister said, about 7.91 lakh hectares of farmland was hit in Rajasthan and Manipur in the current year.

On crop loss caused by wild animals in Uttarakhand, Tomar said in a separate reply that the data on crops destroyed by stray cattle and wild animals are managed by the State governments.

The Uttarkhand government has paid ₹59.90 lakh as compensation to farmers till October 2019, he said.

The Minister also mentioned that the Centre, however, has taken various steps to prevent and check damage to crops by wild animals.

The Union Environment Ministry has approved a project for undertaking ‘Immuno-contraceptive measures’ for population management of wild animals.

That part, assistance is provided for construction/erecting of physical barriers, such as barbed wire fence, solar powered electric fence, bio-fencing using cactus and boundary wall to prevent the entry of wild animals into crop field, he added.

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