Lucknow: In a significant move to help farmers of Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi government has directed the transfer of approximately Rs 177 crore (Rs 1,76,96,63,245) to the accounts of more than three and a half lakh farmers of the state. These farmers were previously excluded from receiving compensation for the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 due to technical glitches.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently chaired a review meeting on compensation and other relief measures for crops affected by various disasters. During this meeting, he expressed dissatisfaction with the negligence in re-verifying crop losses and the non-release of compensation to the affected farmers and sought answers from the ADM FR of 17 districts.
Clear directives were issued to officials to promptly verify cases and ensure the immediate disbursement of compensation to affected farmers. It is worth noting that assistance totaling over Rs 80,88,68,299 has already been distributed to more than 1,87,845 farmers as of January in the current financial year.
Additional Chief Secretary Sudhir Garg stated, “In accordance with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s directives, a comprehensive survey was conducted across all districts of the state to extend assistance to farmers who had not received compensation. The survey revealed that a total of 3,76,287 farmers were deprived of compensation for crop damage caused by disasters during the state’s financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23. This comprises 2,27,735 farmers for the financial year 2021-22 and 1,48,552 farmers for the year 2022-23.”
Following this, instructions were issued to all District Magistrates to requisition funds to compensate the affected farmers. Consequently, a total amount of Rs 1,76,96,63,245 was demanded from all 75 districts of the state for both financial years. This includes Rs 77,36,83,239 for the financial year 2021-22 and Rs 59,59,80,006 for the year 2022-23.
Relief Commissioner GS Naveen explained that a significant number of farmers, affected by crop damage due to disasters, are unable to receive compensation because of errors in Aadhaar, account numbers, and duplication during data feeding. In such cases, re-verification is conducted, but there has been negligence at the district level over the past two years, resulting in the inability to issue compensation to the farmers. Now, under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, efforts are underway to rectify this situation and transfer funds to farmers who were deprived of compensation previously.
Furthermore, funds are being expedited to provide immediate compensation to affected farmers from various districts of the state. As of now, over Rs 100 crore has been disbursed to farmers who were excluded from compensation in the last two financial years.
Over Rs 10 crore compensation is being distributed to more than 27,000 farmers in Sitapur
According to Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, a survey revealed that a total of 27,836 farmers in Sitapur were excluded from compensation for the financial year 2021-22. These farmers are now receiving compensation amounting to Rs 10,72,51,397. Similarly, compensation is being disbursed to 22,661 farmers in Bareilly, ranking second, and 19,420 farmers in Lalitpur, ranking third.
Similarly, a maximum of 21,002 farmers of Siddharthnagar were left out of compensation in the financial year 2022-23, who are being paid an amount of Rs 10,07,53,392. Additionally, compensation is being provided to 17,296 farmers in Jhansi, securing the second position, and 12,933 farmers in Balrampur, ranking third.
It is noted that compensation is granted to farmers whose crops suffer damage exceeding 33 percent due to floods, hailstorms, and unseasonal rain. Following CM Yogi’s directives, the compensation amount is transferred to the farmers’ accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) within 24 hours of the survey.
