MARGAO
Around 287 hectares of standing paddy has been left damaged by the incessant rains, but only farmers with the Krishi Cards will be eligible for compensation under the Shetkari Aadhar Nidhi scheme.
Those who took to paddy cultivation during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown minus the Krishi cards may not be eligible for the compensation on account of damage to crops.
Both Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, who also holds the Agriculture portfolio, and Agriculture Director Nevil Alphonso ruled out payment of compensation to farmers who do not possess Krishi cards. The duo, however, said that farmers should immediately obtain Krishi cards which will make them eligible for compensation under the Shetkar Aadhar Nidhi scheme
'The Goan' had on Friday reported that many beleaguered farmers, whose standing paddy had been left damaged by the rains, may receive compensation for want of Krishi cards.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a training programme to operate harvesters at the Margao Zonal Agriculture Office on Friday, the Deputy Chief Minster was clear in saying that Krishi cards were a must for farmers to receive compensation under the Shetkari Aadhar Nidhi scheme.
When the media drew his attention to the fact that many farmers took to the fields for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic, Kavlekar said “the offices of the agriculture department were open during the pandemic and these farmers should have approached the officials for obtaining Krishi cards”.
Agriculture Director Nevil Alphonso sought to dispel misconceptions in the minds of the farmers on Krishi cards. “Anyone, who is into paddy cultivation can obtain Krishi cards. They need not be the owners of the land, and even a verbal agreement between the farmer and the land owner would suffice to make him eligible for obtaining Krishi card", he said, while inviting the farmers to approach the agriculture officials for Krishi cards.
He said farmers should just fill up an application form with the survey no and submit the Form I & XIV. Right now, there are around 38,000 farmers in the state, who have obtained Krishi cards. "We had conducted a drive at the Panchayat level to get farmers enrolled for the Krishi cards", he added.
Saying that preliminary reports show that around 287 hectares of standing paddy across the state has been damaged by the rains, the Agriculture Director, however, said the damage to crop is much less comparatively to the corresponding period last year.
“The department follows a laid down process in calculating the compensation to the damaged crops. Our officials inspect the fields, evaluate and assess the damage before sending it the government for sanction of compensation", he added.
