THREE YEARS PASSED STILL FARMERS DO NOT GET COMPENSATION

PANJIM: Three years after the devastating rains of March 2008, over 1500 farmers from the state are still awaiting compensation to be disbursed by the government, which had approved Rs130 lakh as compensation to them.

The unseasonal downpours and floods had damaged cash crops in 2008 in the talukas of Canacona, Quepem, Sanguem Pernem and Satari. The state government had announced to compensate the affected farmers under the Shetkari Adhar Nidhi scheme. However, the compensation has not been forthcoming.

A farmer, Mr S Naik (name changed) said they have been waiting for so long to get the compensation and have been running from pillar to post to submit various documents. He said that though they have been assured the compensation under the Shetkari Adhar Nidhi the agriculture department has now asked them to submit afresh land documents and do other paperwork to settle the claims.

He said several farmers are facing hardships in providing the land documents as some of the landlords have sold the land while some have died. He also said the farmers have to stand in bee-lines to submit the documents at zonal agriculture offices.

However, the agriculture director, Mr Satish Tendulkar said the government has approved compensation to all the farmers affected by the unseasonal rains from across the state after taking stock of the damages caused by the rains and floods.

He said the department is yet to fix the date for disbursal of the funds as the file has been pending before the directorate of accounts which is preparing cheques for the affected farmers. The agriculture director said that once all the cheques are prepared, the dates for the disbursal of the same would be announced and handed over to the farmers.

Sources in the agriculture department informed that the department is also in the process of clearing the pending compensation to the farmers affected by the flash floods of October 2009. He said the government will be compensating the farmers at Rs 4000 per hector of the cultivated land.  The official informed that while most of the compensation has already been disbursed through the mamladars, the pending amount after the final assessment would be paid to the farmers in the days to come.