Haryana: Cotton growers to get first instalment of Rs 2,000/acre incentive

CHANDIGARH: Cotton growers in 17 districts of Haryana, who had diversified from paddy under the ‘Mera Pani – Meri Virasat’ scheme during the Kharif season, will soon receive the first installment of incentive at the rate of Rs 2,000 per acre. The money will be deposited into their bank accounts. A total of Rs 10.21 lakh will be disbursed to such farmers as the first installment.

Confirming this, Sanjeev Kaushal, additional chief secretary (agriculture and farmers’ welfare) Haryana, said the installment was being disbursed to farmers through direct benefits transfer mode after completion of the physical verification process by department officials. Diversification from paddy to cotton was done over 20,420 hectares in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Sonipat, Rohtak, Faridabad, Palwal, Rewari, Mewat, Gurugram, Panipat and Karnal.

Kaushal said cotton growers in Sirsa would be the biggest beneficiaries under the scheme, with more than Rs 2.26 crore to be distributed among them for growing the cash crop over 4,523 hectares. Farmers in Fatehabad and Jind will get incentives worth more than Rs 1.98 crore and Rs 1.97 crore respectively for cultivating cotton over 3,966 hectares and 3,945 hectares respectively.

Farmers in the waterstressed blocks of Ratia (Fatehabad), Siwan and Guhla (Kaithal), Pipli, Shahabad, Babain, Ismailabad (Kurukshetra) and Sirsa, where the groundwater level is below 40 metres, are being encouraged to cultivate alternate crops, including maize , bajra, cotton, pulses and horticultural crops, he said. The state government promised to pay Rs 7,000 per acre for the diversified crop, of which Rs 5,000 per acre when the crop is in the maturing stage.