Haryana Vidhan Sabha Debates Compensation for Virus-affected Paddy Crops

The Haryana Vidhan Sabha engaged in a pressing debate on Tuesday concerning a widespread disease outbreak in paddy crops, which has ravaged areas such as Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Ambala, and Yamunanagar. The dialogue, prompted by a calling attention motion, saw legislators urging government intervention to compensate farmers devastated by the SRBSDV virus.

Congress MLA Aditya Surjewala highlighted the severe impact of the virus, noting the distress among farmers. He pointed out the Agriculture Minister's admission of crop damage across multiple districts and underscored the additional burden on farmers due to re-sowing. Surjewala called for compensation for farmers who suffered significant losses, referring to a survey conducted by the Union Agriculture Ministry. He also pushed for a specialized committee to oversee crop disease management in Haryana.

Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana, responding to the discussion, advocated for the direct seeding of rice (DSR) method, which has shown resilience against the virus. Rana described how the virus impairs plant growth by extracting sap and mentioned advisory measures from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, which were disseminated through 235 awareness camps and various media initiatives.

Rana explained that compensation guidelines from the central government exclude crops sown before June 15. Meanwhile, MLA Arjun Chautala scrutinized the government's reports of widespread awareness efforts and requested details on the budget for these campaigns. He also sought district-specific data on crop damage, pointing out variations in loss severity.

As the discussion wrapped up, Congress MLA Ashok Nagar reiterated the call for a new survey and appropriate farmer compensation, while the government assured ongoing monitoring of the situation by Hisar Agricultural University in collaboration with central authorities.

(With inputs from agencies.)