West Bengal Government Releases Rs 293 Crore to Aid Farmers Affected by Adverse Weather

West Bengal Government Releases Rs 293 Crore to Aid Farmers Affected by Adverse Weather

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Wednesday that her government has initiated the process of releasing a total of Rs 293 crore directly into the bank accounts of 2.1 lakh farmers in the state. These farmers had suffered crop losses due to adverse weather conditions during the current Rabi season.

The Chief Minister stated that this aid is in addition to the Rs 2,900 crore assistance provided to 1.05 crore farmers and tenants in the state, who were enrolled in the ‘Krishak Bandhu (Natun)’ scheme.

“I am happy to announce that (apart from providing Rs 2,900 cr assistance to 1 crore 5 lakh farmers and bargadars across the state under the Krishak Bandhu Natun Scheme), we are also releasing today onwards a sum of Rs 293 crore directly to the bank accounts of our 2.10 lakh farmers who suffered crop losses due to adverse weather conditions during the current Rabi season,” Banerjee wrote.

The Bengal CM further clarified that the assistance of Rs 2,900 crore to farmers was under the state’s unique crop insurance scheme ‘Bangla Shasya Bima (BSB)’, where the state government pays the entire premium for all crops.

“Since the launch of the scheme in 2019, the state government has disbursed a total of Rs 3,133 crore to the bank accounts of the affected one crore farmers,” she added.

The ‘Krishak Bandhu’ scheme was launched by the state government in 2019 to provide financial assistance to all farmers of West Bengal for agricultural purposes and to ensure social security to farm families in the event of the untimely death of farmers. The scheme was renamed as ‘Krishak Bandhu (Natun)’ and relaunched by Banerjee in June 2021. This move underscores the government’s commitment to the welfare of the farming community in the state.