Agriculture crops cultivated in about 50.40 lakh hectare of area have been affected across the country due to heavy rains, floods and landslides so far this year, with maximum damage reported in Karnataka, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, said about Rs 8,873.60 crore has been released as of November 25 from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

Additional assistance, over and above SDRF, is considered by the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for natural calamities of severe nature and is approved based on the memorandum received from the state governments, he added.

As per the data placed before the Lower House, Karnataka has reported a crop damage in maximum area of 13.98 lakh hectare as of November 25, followed by West Bengal (6.90 lakh hectare), Rajasthan (6.79 lakh hectare), Bihar (5.80 lakh hectare), Maharashtra (4.55 lakh hectare) and Uttar Pradesh (3.61 lakh hectare).

On a question that if the Centre plans to waive loans of farmers in the affected districts, Tomar said, "No sir."

He said the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) provides training to farmers on effective flood management in flood plains and flood-prone ecologies of India.

Source: The Economic Times