Gorakhpur : Alleging that Samajwadi Party govt deprived farmers of their rightful compensation and siphoned off public money, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that the curse of farmers brought down the SP.
While transferring Rs 493 crore in agricultural input assistance to 9,18,091 farmers affected by floods, excessive rainfall, hailstorm and cyclones, Yogi said under SP govt farmers got compensation of Rs 2, Rs 4 and Rs 15. Yogi announced that paddy and coarse grain procurement centres would open from Oct 15 in districts affected by excessive rainfall and waterlogging. “Before 2017, there was no electricity, but bills arrived. The CM said the govt ensured compensation for crop, house and livestock losses within 8-10 days of calamity. Referring to the 2014 Hudhud cyclone, Yogi claimed that of the Rs 3,200 crore released by Centre, only Rs 800 crore reached farmers. He said additional assistance was arranged for affected farmers after he became chief minister in 2017.
“The present govt is transferring assistance directly into the bank accounts of farmers through direct benefit transfer (DBT),” he said. Now, farmers do not receive electricity bills, but get electricity,” Yogi said. “In cases of loss of life, officials have been directed to provide Rs 4 lakh in assistance within 24 hours,” he said.
The centres would procure paddy, jowar, bajra and maize, ensuring farmers could sell their produce at govt procurement centres. Yogi alleged that Congress and SP govts allowed funds meant for beneficiaries to be siphoned off through middlemen.