Rythu Swarajya Vedika urges unlisted Telangana farmers to register crop loss from Cyclone Montha

Hyderabad: Rythu Swarajya Vedika has asked farmers, who suffered crop damage due to Cyclone Montha, to check the crop loss enumeration lists displayed in their villages and if their name is missing, bring it to the notice of the Agriculture Extension Officer (AEO).

The AEO is duty-bound to revisit the field and reassess the damage.

Damages by Cyclone Montha are more than govt numbers

Due to heavy rains associated with the Montha cyclone at the end of October, farmers who suffered severe crop loss (more than 33%) were enumerated by the government.

On November 11, the government released district-wise figures, stating that a total of 1.17 lakh acres across the state were damaged, though the preliminary estimates showed damage in 4.48 lakh acres.

However, after Rythu Swarajya Vedika held a roundtable meeting on November 12 and met the Agriculture Minister to highlight irregularities and shortcomings in the crop loss enumeration process and submitted suggestions, the government has taken an important decision to review the numbers.

Updated list of farmers displayed at the panchayat offices

Accordingly, lists of farmers whose severe crop loss has already been enumerated are now being displayed at Gram Panchayat offices. Complaints are being accepted from farmers whose names were left out, and fresh verification is being conducted.

Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) welcomed this positive step of the Telangana government and called upon the government to mandatorily follow this transparent process every time a natural calamity occurs.

In this context, RSV is giving the following call to farmers in all districts:

- Check the crop loss enumeration lists displayed in your village. If you or any farmer you know has suffered severe crop loss but your name is missing, immediately bring it to the notice of the Agriculture Extension Officer (AEO). The AEO is duty-bound to revisit the field and reassess the damage.

- What is ‘severe crop loss’? As per the National Disaster Management Act, severe crop loss means a yield loss of more than 33 per cent.

Example: If under normal weather conditions you would have harvested 10 quintals per acre, but due to heavy rains/floods, you now expect only 6.5 quintals or less, it qualifies as 33 per cent+ loss. If you fall in this category, immediately inform the AEO.

- If severe crop loss has occurred in your village but the list has not been displayed at all, contact the AEO immediately and insist that fields be revisited and damage reassessed.

- In many places, surveys were conducted only in the main village, while remote hamlets (tandas) or habitations were left out. Farmers from such areas must also utilise this opportunity.

- In some places, only one or two crops have been recorded as damaged, while other crops grown in the same field have also been lost. Bring all such additional damaged crops to the AEO’s notice.

Example: In some areas, only paddy and cotton were recorded, but losses in maize, millets, etc., were not included.

- For crops like cotton and paddy, during the first 10 days of November, when the crop damage enumeration was done, AEOs might have assumed the crop would recover and therefore did not record it as a severe loss. If your crop has still not recovered, insist that it be recorded now.

RSV also requests other farmers’ organisations to take note of this process and ensure that more genuine farmers who suffered severe damage get justice.