Farmers to get Crop Insurance in 3 Weeks

Farmers affected by last year's droughts will get their crop insurance amount within the next two to three weeks, cooperation minister Damodar Rout told the assembly on Saturday. While replying to an adjournment motion moved by opposition whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Rout said the delay in disbursal is mainly due to contradictory reports on crop damage. Pointing out how there were discrepancies in crop damage reports filed by the special relief commissioner (SRC) and the Statistical Bureau, Rout said while the SRC report had said 100% crop loss in Balangir district, the Statistical Bureau pegged it at 29%. In case of Bargarh, SRC had assessed the damage at 70% while the bureau found it to be 50%. This delayed sending the final report, he said.