Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday demanded time-bound compensation for the farmers whose wheat crop has been damaged by recent rains, while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Badal demanded release of crop relief at the rate of Rs 50,000 per acre.
Capt Amarinder Singh said the government should also consider providing interim relief for the farmers till the actual compensation is worked out after special 'girdawari', which is likely to take some time.
He said Rs 15,000 compensation announced by the government was too less as the losses to farmers were quite enormous and demanded that the compensation must be at least Rs 30,000 per acre.
The former chief minister said the unprecedented rains had caused devastating damage to the standing wheat crops across the state. He said most of the farmers have been badly hit. This, he added, will also affect the yield and eventually the income of the farmers who are already reeling under severe economic crisis.
Slamming Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the SAD president said "what is the Chief Minister waiting for?The complete destruction of the wheat crop in nearly half of the state is there for all to see. It has also been corroborated by agricultural experts. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also promised to give compensation immediately after crop damage on the 'Delhi Model' and should make good its promise instead of delaying the assessment procedure to deny relief to farmers as it had done last year also.
Farmers have not received compensation for damage done to wheat and cotton crops last year which should also be given immediately, Badal added.Capt Amarinder said while the government has been claiming to have ordered a special girdawari, the ground reports suggest that no official has reached out to farmers as yet to assess their losses.
"This means that it will take more time and till then the farmers should be provided some interim relief to enable them to sow the next crop and manage day-to-day affairs," he added, while urging the government to take the relief measures at war-footing.