Raipur, Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh assured the farmers that State Government stands by them in the hour of crisis. He was speaking on the floor of the Assembly on the occasion of the one-day special session called for submitting second supplementary Grants of Rs 2101 crore 54 lakh 77 thousand . Dr. Raman Singh said that the authorities are keen on seeing the happy smiling faces of farmers before the Festival of Lights-Deepawali. Chief Minister said that Special Assembly session was called to address the issue of paddy Bonus to farmers as early as possible. Dr. Raman Singh greeted the citizens of the State on the auspicious occasion of ‘Sharadiya Navrathri’. Chief Minister said that the State Government had been making strenuous efforts to improve the socio-economic conditions of farmers. The results are visible as the Gross Domestic Product had increased a lot and revolutionary changes had occurred on the agriculture front. The farmers deserve ‘Bonus’ for their significant contribution in the rapid development of Chhattisgarh. Drought-affected districts’ farmers will be protected with extra facilities and financial grants. The Special session of the Assembly reflects our concern for the farmers. Dr. Raman Singh said that earlier the entire Budget of the State Government was around Rs 11 thousand crore and at present the farmers alone are getting about Rs 11 thousand crore as price for the purchase of paddy. Several steps had been taken to decrease the investments in farming. Earlier the Co-Operatives’ Societies levied 14 per cent interest rates on loans to farmers but now the loans are being provided at ‘Zero’ per cent interest. Chhattisgarh is the first state to provide loans at Zero per cent interest rate. The farmers are availing loans worth Rs 3, 500 crore from the Co-Operative Societies and selling paddy worth Rs 11 thousand crore. The purchase of paddy is done on transparent computerized system. The economic conditions of farmers had improved significantly. Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh said that Health Insurance Scheme of a family had been increased to Rs 50 thousand. Farmers also will get benefit of Rs 50 thousand on Smart Card. Chhattisgarh Government had been providing domestic gas connections free of cost under the ‘Ujjwala’ scheme to 36 lakh poor families. Farmers will be benefitted by the scheme. Dr. Raman Singh said that Crops’ Insurance is being done at a minimum of 2 per cent and about 13 lakh 50 thousand farmers had been included in the scheme. Dr. Raman Singh added that the employment generation days had been raised to 200 days under the MGNREGA due to the prevailing drought conditions in some districts of the State. No person should migrate due to lack of employment. Efforts are being made to supply drinking water in the drought-affected districts. The State Government will provide three-phase succour to the farmers. Compensation to the damaged crops. An amount of Rs 2100 crore will be distributed as ‘Bonus’ to the farmers which will act as ‘Sanjeevni’. Apart from these the farmers will be provided with Crops’ Insurance Scheme. Chief Minister said that About Rs 1800 crore package had been allocated to farmers during the 2015.
