Thiruvananthapuram: Unpaid bills are piling up before the departments of the Kerala Government owing to a prolonged cash crunch. The Agriculture Department has failed to pay Rs 70.63 crore due to farmers which includes the price of produce procured by it, compensation for crop loss and agricultural insurance.
The amount has been due to farmers over periods between six months and two years. Even though the Agriculture Department officially requested the Finance Department several times to sanction the amount, the latter has rejected the pleas citing lack of funds.
Now the authorities at the Agriculture Department have no idea whether the dues would be cleared before the upcoming Onam festival.
The amount comprises Rs 39.08 crore as compensation for crop loss, Rs 29.50 crore agricultural insurance and Rs 2.05 crore against procurement by government agency Horticorp — the short for Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation.
Farmers are reluctant to supply vegetables to authorities this year as the payments for even items procured by the Horticorp are pending. While the arrears date to October last year for farmers in Wayanad and Malappuram, the price of procured vegetables has not been paid to agriculturists in the other districts since January this year.
Horticorp Managing Director J Sajeev said that all efforts are being taken to clear the arrears before Onam. “We expect funds from the government to carry out procurement this year also,” he added.
Compensation for crop loss following natural calamities is pending in Kerala since June, 2021. The Agriculture Department officials said that they would bring the matter to the attention of the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, the government has not paid the amounts under the state Agricultural Insurance Scheme after April 2022. Even though an allocation of Rs 30 crore was made in the Budget for the purpose, it was sufficient only to clear the dues till that month.
Incidentally, another government agency Supplyco — the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation — had recently expressed its helplessness in clearing an amount of Rs 400 crore due to farmers for procuring paddy.
Over 1.5 lakh farmers have been affected as crops worth Rs 450 crore have been damaged or lost since January this year owing to various reasons.
The losses during July alone amounted to Rs 175 crore as per the preliminary estimates of the Agriculture Department. Farmers who bore the brunt of crop losses fear that they would have to wait several years to receive compensation.
