Jharkhand CM assures Rs 2,000 cr worth schemes as drought relief

Ranchi, Sept 12: Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday directed all departments to jointly plan schemes worth Rs 2,000 crore even as he instructed construction of one lakh wells and one lakh ponds in the state as part of the drought relief measures.

The Chief Minister, in a meeting with the state disaster management department along with Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh and Health Minister Banna Gupta, decided to initiate five schemes in every village to protect the farmers from the deficit rainfall.

Soren further removed the ban on raw work in the villages and directed timely payment of the pension amount by the fifth day of every month, the Chief Minister’s office said in a tweet. The meeting dwelled on ways to provide relief to the farmers.

The agriculture department has decided to distribute Rs 20 crore worth of seeds among the farmers at 100 per cent subsidy. The decision taken under the Birsa Crop Extension Scheme will help cultivate more than 25,000 hectares of farmland in the state.

Seeds of sunflower, groundnut, madua, maize, mustard and gram will be distributed among the farmers. The beneficiaries will be identified by the district agriculture officers. The farmers will also get integrated fertilizers and pest management support.

Considering the difficult times for the farmers, many of whom have not been able to sow their fields due to the deficit rainfall, the government has decided to urgently strengthen the Public Distribution System (PDS) in order to provide subsidised food grains.