Thursday, December 14, 2023

Chandigarh, December 14 – Reiterating the state government's commitment to timely and effective relief efforts, the Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal today digitally disbursed a compensation amount of Rs 97,93,26,000 to 34,511 farmers who have suffered loss due to the devastating impact of heavy rainfall and floods that wreaked havoc in July across 12 districts in the state.

Addressing a press conference here today, the Chief Minister said that the said compensation encompasses an area of 49,197 acres, which had been re-sown, with a rate of Rs 7,000 per acre. He said that the compensation given today does not include the cotton crop as the survey is still going on.

The Chief Minister said that this compensation has been given for crop losses ranging from 25 percent to 100 percent. About Rs 12.81 crore compensation has been in Ambala district, Rs 18.65 crore in Fatehabad, Rs 26.95 crore in Kurukshetra, Rs 23.60 lakh in Bhiwani, Rs 5.57 crore in Charkhi Dadri, Rs 1.35 crore in Faridabad, Rs 15.43 lakh in Hisar, Rs 1.48 crore in Jhajjar, Rs 9.89 lakh in Jind, Rs 7.99 crore in Kaithal, Rs 3.09 crore in Karnal, Rs 10.78 crore in Mahendragarh and  Rs 5.40 crore in Palwal. Similarly, an amount of Rs 53000 has been given in Mewat, Rs 23.31 lakh in Panchkula, Rs 19.88 lakh in Panipat,  Rs. 2.53 crore in Rohtak, Rs 3.20 crore in Sirsa, Rs 5.15 crore in Sonipat, Rs 2.61 crore in Yamunanagar and Rs 7 lakh in Rewari.

The Chief Minister said that an amount of Rs 6,70,97,277 has been approved for losses in commercial properties in urban areas, which will be disbursed soon. He further shared that the state government had initiated the damage assessment and transparent distribution system for compensation to those affected by natural disasters. In July, 1469 villages and 4 cities in 12 districts of the state, namely Ambala, Fatehabad, Faridabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panchkula, Panipat, Palwal, Sonipat, Sirsa, and Yamunanagar, were declared affected by floods. In addition to crop losses, the compensation portal included damages to livestock, homes, commercial and residential properties, clothing, utensils, and other household items caused by floods.

He stated that on October 11, 2023, a sum of Rs 5,96,83,500 was directly deposited into bank accounts through DBT for the damage caused in rural areas, including losses to livestock, homes, commercial properties, clothing, utensils, and other household items.

The Chief Minister said that 47 people lost their lives in the floods, and the government had announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for their families. So far, a sum of Rs 1.60 crore has been provided to the families of 40 individuals, while the verification process for the remaining 7 is underway. The total compensation amount for various damages is Rs 112.21 crores.

Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Sh. T.V. S.N. Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Town and Country Planning Department, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Commissioner and Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Sh. Pankaj Agarwal, Commissioner and Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, Sh. Vikas Gupta, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr. Amit Agrawal, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. K. Makarand Pandurang, Director, Town and Country Planning Department, Sh. Amit Khatri, Political Advisor to Chief Minister, Sh. B.B. Bharti, Media Advisor, Sh. Rajeev Jaitly, Media Secretary, Sh. Praveen Atreya, Chief Media Coordinator, Sh. Sudesh Kataria also remained present on this occasion.