Provide relief to farmers affected by 2020 rains: HC to government

Government has to inform farmers about schemes like PM Fasal Bima Yojana, says court

Telangana High Court on Tuesday instructed the State government to initiate measures within three months to enumerate and assess the crop losses suffered by farmers due to rains in September and October of 2020.

Pronouncing verdict in a PIL petition, a bench of Acting Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice T. Vinod Kumar also directed the government to extend assistance to ryots, including tenant farmers, in the form of agricultural input subsidy within a month of enumeration of crop loss. The subsidy for this can secured from National or State Disaster Response Fund (NDRF/SDRF) under National Disaster Management Act-2005.

The government should also take steps to give additional and appropriate relief to small and marginal farmers who suffered massive economic loss due to absence of crop insurance coverage within four months. The petitioners wanted the government to provide relief to farmers who lost crops during heavy rains in 2020 and complained that inaction of the government in enlightening agriculturists about crop insurance scheme cost them dearly.