Rains damage crops over 46,440 lakh hectare

NEW DELHI: The past few days of rain have led to crop damage across Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat and a few other states. Some 46,440 lakh hectare planted with paddy, cotton, pulses, coarse cereals, plantation and horticulture crops has been affected. Damage estimates are expected to rise as some state are yet to make an assessment.

“Eight states have reported damage of various crops due to recent rains,” said Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, minister of state for agriculture, in Rajya Sabha. He added that the ministry has issued advisory to to implement contingency plan as per local need.

As per government data, Maharashtra has seen the maximum crop area damage of 22,511 lakh hectare. Paddy, cotton, tur, moong and vegetables were largely damaged. In Himachal Pradesh crop damage of largely horticulture crop was reported on 11,798 lakh hectare while in Kerala it was 8203 lakh hectare of paddy and plantation crops. Paddy area has seen damage in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh, says the government data. The Gujarat government was yet to send the assessment of the damage to the centre.


To protect farmers against crop failure due to natural calamities, pests and diseases, weather conditions, the government is implementing a new yield index based scheme namely, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, informed Shekhawat. Apart from insurance compensation, the state governments are primarily responsible for taking immediate measures in the wake of all natural calamities, he adds. The state government will address the notified calamities by utilizing the funds under state disaster relief fund, he says. The states submit memorandum as per extant procedure and norms.