The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Friday said Rs 25,000 per compensation for Haryana farmers whose crops have been damaged by the recent incessant rains.

Addressing a Press conference, senior INLD leader and leader of Opposition in Assembly, Abhay Singh Chautala asked the government to immediately order ‘girdawari’ to assess the damage caused to the paddy and other crops.

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He said to mitigate the misery of the farmers, the least that the government can also do is to waive the interest on their crop loans for this year.

On the issue of compensation, he said the crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna was inadequate and unjust. He accused the government of making the farmers run from pillar to post for claiming the insurance and even then getting inadequate compensation. The scheme has only benefited the insurance companies, Chautala added.

The INLD leader said that the farmers have suffered not only due to the damage caused to paddy in the fields but even the one that had arrived in the Mandis (grain markets) has been severely damaged. He regretted that since no expansion in the construction of the sheds in Mandis has been undertaken after 2005, when Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala demitted office of the Chief Minister, the farmers suffered this two-fold loss because of the indifference of the successive governments.

Castigating the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government for its anti-people policies, he said that the latest in the series is the irrational increase in the rates of Registration of Deeds fees.

The minimum registration fees of deeds between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, has been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 15,000.