Punjab CM promises 10% of crop damage compensation to farm labourers

Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that 10% of the compensation for crop damage will now go to farm labourers. This is applicable in the case of any natural disaster causing loss to farmers.

He stated that the decision was taken keeping in mind the problems faced by farm labourers, who lose work and income when a crop gets damaged due to heavy rain or hailstorm. "This decision is a gift to the working class, who toil to produce crops, ahead of the Labour Day on May 1."

"We have decided that whatever compensation the government will give to farmers for crop damage due to unseasonal rain or hailstorm, out of the total, 10% will be given to farm labourers. For example, if ₹ 15,000 an acre is given as compensation, ₹ 1,500 will be given to the labourers who were to work in the fields but could not as the crop got damaged because of the rain," said CM.

The government is also going to start a drive to register the labourers so that they can get benefits from state and central-sponsored schemes. "We have directed our officers to visit labour chowks, construction sites, and rural areas and meet labourers there and get them registered on the spot. In the coming days, we will bring many pro-Punjab, pro-people initiatives. We don't leave any files pending. Earlier, files were pending for 2-3 years. We are bringing the state back on the track of development so that Punjab once again becomes 'rangla (vibrant)."

He was speaking after holding a cabinet meeting in Ludhiana as part of the Sarkar Tuhade Dwar programme. It is the first cabinet meeting under the programme.

The cabinet also approved the revision of the pay scales of teachers at Punjab Agricultural University.