Credit card issued to 22.48 lakh farmers of the state
Credit limit of 10 thousand 212 crore sanctioned to 15.80 lakh farmers of the state
Preparations for Kharif season: Fertilizers and seeds stored in adequate quantity
Agriculture and Water Resource Minister Mr. Ravindra Choubey addressed media representatives through video conferencing.
Raipur, 21 April 21 2020. To strengthen rural economy of the state, Chhattisgarh Government is continuously doing concrete work for the development of villages, poor and farmers. Under the guidance of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, special attention is being paid to agriculture and allied activities during the lockdown period. Nearly Rs 900 crore has been transferred to the accounts of farmers during the lockdown period till date. During this period, the state government has also ensured sale of their produce and has also provided necessary concessions and relaxations for farming. Minister Mr. Choubey said this while talking to reporters through video conferencing from Chips office today. Food Minister Mr. Amarjeet Bhagat, Agricultural Production Commissioner and Principal Secretary Agriculture Mrs. Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Food Secretary Mr. Kamalpreet Singh and senior officials were also present during the video conference.
Agriculture Minister Mr. Choubey informed that the payment of Rabi crop insurance amount to the farmers has also been started. An amount of Rs 2 crore 59 lakh has been released to 2668 farmers of Kabeerdham, Mungeli and Balrampur districts of the state. Farmers of other districts of the state will also be paid the insurance amount for Rabi crops soon. He informed that the Union Petroleum Ministry has given permission to the Food Corporation of India to make bio-ethanol from food grains. In view of this, it is expected that the state of Chhattisgarh will get permission to manufacture bio-ethanol soon.
Minister Mr. Choubey said that a provision of Rs 5300 crore has been made under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana launched in the state for the benefit of farmers. This amount will be distributed from upcoming May month to all those farmers, who have sold paddy at the support price in the state. Mr. Choubey said that farmers of Chhattisgarh also cultivate vegetables along with watermelon, banana, papaya. Due to lack of better marketing system, the state government has requested procurement of the same through central agencies so that farmers may get better value for their produce.
Minister Mr. Choubey said that with the aim of giving employment on a large scale to the people in rural areas, the works of the watershed mission have also been started by the Agriculture Department. This will create employment of 25 lakh man-days. He also informed that the closed under-construction works of the Water Resources Department have also been estarted. Tendered construction works costing about 250 crore rupees are also being resumed so that people may get employment in the village itself.
The work of Bodhghat project has also begun at an accelerated pace. He informed that in view of the upcoming kharif season, the preparation has been started by the Agriculture Department. Adequate quantity of seeds has been stored. He informed that in view of the demand of 9.08 lakh quintal seeds for various kharif crops, so far 1.70 lakh quintal paddy seed and 755 quintal soyabean seed have been stocked up in the process centers and societies in all districts of the state. Similarly, 5.8 lakh metric tons of fertilizers has been stored in the state. Minister Mr. Choubey informed that due to the lockdown, the milk produced by the livestock owners here is not being consumed. In view of this, Union Minister, Animal Husbandry and Dairy has assured to give permission to make milk powder from it. He said that Chhattisgarh government is working with full commitment to protect the interests of farmers. Every possible step is being taken to ensure that the farmers do not go through any problem in farming period during the lockdown and during the upcoming kharif season.
Talking to reporters on the occasion, Food Minister Mr. Amarjeet Bhagat said that the whole world is affected due to Corona infection. It is a time of crisis. Better preventive steps have been taken in the state of Chhattisgarh under the guidance of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel to avoid corona infection. He said that the government has made better arrangements to provide food grains to the people of Chhattisgarh. He said that even in a situation like lockdown, we have completed the challenge of providing food grains to 65 lakh 63 thousand ration cardholder families of the state. By giving two months of free food grains to these card-holding families, we have ensured the provision of food for 2 crore 44 lakh people. He said that due to Chhattisgarh government’s decisions during the Corona crisis and the lockdown, economic condition is better here, which has been appreciated by the Reserve Bank of India also. Minister Mr. Bhagat said that people are getting employment in villages under MNREGA and also through collection of minor forest produce in forest areas.
Minister Mr. Choubey, while replying to the queries of journalists, said that the infection of corona has spread rapidly in the neighboring states of Chhattisgarh like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana. In view of this, the boundaries of the state of Chhattisgarh have been sealed. Continuous monitoring is being done to prevent traffic from here. He said that decision will be taken regarding the relaxations and exemptions to be given in the state during lockdown as per the advisory of the Central Government.
Regarding high electricity bills and damage to the chickpeas crops due to hailstorm, he said that the interests of farmers will be protected. Answering the question of poultry business being shut down due to Corona infection, Minister Mr. Choubey said that Corona has nothing to do with the poultry business
