Question raised in Rajya Sabha on compensation for crop damage due to natural calamities, 31/07/2015
Question raised in Rajya Sabha on compensation for crop damage due to natural calamities, 31/07/2015. State Government is empowered to undertake necessary relief measures in the wake of natural calamities like, drought, hailstorm, pest attack & cold wave/frost from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) which is readily available with them. Additional financial assistance, over and above SDRF, is considered from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for natural calamities of severe nature on receipt of Memorandum from the State Government. On request by any State Government, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation constitutes and Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to visit the States for assessing damages including crop loss for recommending financial assistance from NDRF. Based on the report of the IMCT, Sub Committee of National Executive Committee (SC-NEC) recommends extent of admissible assistance as per laid down items and norms of assistance from NDRF/SDRF for approval of the High Level Committee (HLC) to sanction central assistance from NDRF. The norms for relief under SDRF/NDRF are Rs. 6800/- per hectare for rainfed crops, Rs. 13,500/- per ha. For assured irrigated crops and Rs. 18,000/- per ha. for all type of perennial crops, where crop loss is more than 33% and above.