Centre asks States to help farmers Hyderabad, April 24 (INN): The Central Government has urged the State Governments to utilise the funds under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to undertake necessary relief measures in the wake of natural calamities like, drought, hailstorm, pest attack and cold wave/frost.
Giving the information in Rajya Sabha on Friday, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Mohambhai Kundria said that the States have been requested to take immediate steps to address the notified calamities by utilizing the funds available under SDRF. For notified disasters, the norms of assistance are announced/revised from time to time, the latest being on 08.04.2015, where Government has announced an increase of 50% in the relief on input subsidy being given to farmers affected by recent hailstorms. The threshold for eligibility also has been reduced to 33%. In case of other calamities, State Governments are empowered, within the limit of 10% of funds available under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), to provide immediate relief to the victims, as per procedure laid down in Ministry of Home Affair's OM dated 20.03.2015.
News Posted: 24 April, 2015
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