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Farmers to get compensation prior to assessment of crop loss: CM Bhagwant Mann
CM Bhagwant Mann distributed compensation cheques to farmers in Mansa and said it is a troublesome process of assessment of crop loss.
: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday announced that farmers incurring any loss from a natural disaster in future would be duly compensated prior to completion of ‘girdawari’ (assessment).
Mann, who was in Mansa to distribute compensation cheques to farmers who have lost their crop due to pink bollworm attack, said that it is unfortunate that food growers get compensation after a long and troublesome process of assessment of crop loss.
“This will be reversed and now farmers will get compensation prior to assessment as already being done in Delhi. It will be instrumental in saving the undue harassment of farmers for getting compensation after a cumbersome process,” he said.
Mann accused the previous Congress government of supplying poor quality seeds and pesticides.
He said that the real culprits for loss of farmers was not attack of white or pink worm but it was the then government which supplied poor seeds and pesticides to farmers.
He said that a thorough enquiry will be conducted in this regard and strict action will be taken against those who had supplied these spurious seeds and pesticides to farmers.
“Our government will investigate the crores (of rupees) siphoned off in the name of white and pink bollworms. The taxpayers money will be recovered and spent on welfare of people,” he said.
He said that if the then government had performed its duty well and ensured the supply of good seeds and pesticides, then the farmers would not have faced such hardships.
He said that meagre compensation after such a whopping loss rubs salt on the wounds of farmers.
Chief minister Mann said that the state government is holding parleys with the experts of various universities so as to introduce new technology for motivating the farmers to cultivate high profit yielding varieties of crops.
He said that budgetary provision will be made to provide funds to Punjab Agriculture University for new research and high-quality seeds of various crops.
