Chandigarh, July 26—The Haryana Government, headed by the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has effected 250 per cent increase in the compensation awarded to the farmers for the loss of their crops over what was paid by the previous INLD Government; the amount of compensation has been worked out on the basis of their share in the land; and it is for the first time that compensation has also been paid for the land where sowing of crops could not be done due to water logging.
Stating this here today, Prof Virender, Political Advisor to the Chief Minister, said that those criticising the government on the amount of compensation paid to the farmers, should first look over the shoulders to see what the INLD Government had done.
Under the previous government, only Rs 1,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 per acre was given as compensation whereas, the Hooda Government has increased this amount by more than two-and-a-half times. At present, the compensation of Rs 2,500, Rs 3,500, Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,500 per acre is given for various crops on the basis of the percentage of the damage, Prof Virender said. In Punjab, this amount is Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 per acre.
“The people of Haryana know full well the anti-farmer approach of the INLD Government. This is just to keep the attention of the people away from their diminishing base in the state, that the Opposition is shedding crocodile tears for the farmers by raising the bogey that the state government is neglecting their interests. Not that they have any feeling for the farmers but just want to make political capital out of it”, he added.
Each farmer of Beri tehsil in Jhajjar district whose crop was damaged due to water logging after the rains in 2011 has been given adequate compensation according to his share of the land but the Opposition is politicising the issue, he said.
In 2011, the state government had declared 10,316 people as eligible for compensation for the damage caused in 3,269 acres of land due to waterlogging. The amount of compensation had been fixed on the basis of the total number of shares in the related khewat, their shares and the percentage of damage to the crops.
He said that in Haryana, compensation was given on the basis of the percentage of damage to the crops which is Rs. 2500, Rs. 3500, Rs. 4,500 and Rs 5,500 per acre for various crops whereas during the INLD Government, the amount was only Rs 1,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 per acre.
Explaining the rationale behind the calculation, Prof Virender said that Satnarayan of village Godhri whose share in Khewat number two, Khasra number 20/13 and total area 1/1680 in eight kanal, the amount of compensation at the rate of Rs 3,500 per acre worked out to Rs 2.08. Similarly, another stakeholder Tekchand has a share of 1/1260 in the same Khewat, on the basis of which his compensation works out to Rs 2.77 but he has been given a cheque for Rs 3.
The Opposition party is spreading false propaganda that cheques of small amount were being given to the farmers, he said. On the basis of this formula, farmers–Arjun Singh of village Dhor and Satwinder Singh—were given cheques for Rs 28,372 and Rs 25,070 respectively. “But this is not being propagated by the Opposition parties. They just want to make political capital out of the issue by concealing the technical aspects”, Prof Virender said.
Usually, compensation is given for damage to the crops due to any natural calamity but due to the farmer-friendly approach of the Chief Minister that it is for the first time that the state government has given compensation for the land where sowing of crops could not be done due to water logging. “On the basis of the girdawari, the maximum compensation at the rate of Rs 3,500 per acre has been fixed which is much more than that given by the INLD Government”, Prof Virender said.
He refuted the allegation that it is necessary to open an account for the clearance of cheques. The farmers were given option prior to the distribution of compensation that in case of compensation of Rs 500 or more, they could get this amount in cash, instead of cheque. Besides, the farmers were also given another option that for realization of cheque for the compensation amount, the concerned bank would also open account on zero balance so that farmers need not to pay for the opening of their bank accounts, he added.
Prof Virender pointed out that due to the increasing population and shrinking of land holding, the number of shareholders in the land had increased in a disorganized way. As a result of this, it is quite logical if the amount of compensation is low. In many cases, the share of a farmer in land is not even one-fourth of a marla. The compulsion is paid on the basis of the share in a transparent manner, he added.
In Girdawari, 3269 acres of area has been fixed. For this area, compensation amount of over Rs. 1.14 crore was fixed at the rate of Rs 3,500 per acre. This amount was distributed on the basis of the share in khewat included in the affected area.