The Odisha government has announced a relief and compensation package for families, farmers, fishers, traders and small businesses affected by Cyclone Arnab, including ₹2,500 in ex-gratia assistance and 50 kg of rice for each affected family.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the measures after reviewing relief, reconstruction and damage assessment at a high-level meeting at the Special Relief Commissioner’s office on Sunday evening. He also directed teams deployed for Cyclone Murasu to remain at their assigned locations.
Farmers with crop losses of 33% or more will receive input subsidies for up to two hectares. The assistance will be ₹8,500 per hectare for unirrigated land, ₹17,000 for irrigated land and ₹22,500 for perennial crops, subject to the stated minimum assistance levels. Farmers may also receive ₹18,000 per hectare to remove sand or silt from agricultural land, with a minimum assistance amount of ₹2,200 per farmer.
The package includes 175,000 special agricultural kits, comprising 120,000 pulse minikits, 5,000 oilseed kits and 50,000 vegetable seed kits. Sugarcane growers in 2,000 affected hectares will receive support for space transplanting or ratoon crop management. A 75% subsidy on pesticides and bio-pesticides has also been announced for the 2026-27 rabi season.
The government said short-term kharif loans could be converted into medium-term loans for willing farmers where crop damage has reached at least 33%. Joint liability groups will be formed to improve access to credit for sharecroppers, landless farmers and cultivators working under oral agreements.
For housing damage, assistance of ₹1.2 lakh will be provided for completely or severely damaged houses in plain areas and ₹1.3 lakh in hilly areas. Partially damaged pucca houses will receive ₹6,500 and partially damaged kutcha houses ₹4,000. Assistance has also been announced for damaged huts and cattle sheds. Families whose homes were washed away, completely destroyed or inundated for more than two days will receive ₹2,500 each for clothing and utensils.
The animal husbandry measures include compensation of ₹37,500 for the loss of milch cattle and buffaloes, ₹32,000 for large draught animals and ₹20,000 for smaller draught animals. Compensation for sheep, goats and pigs has been fixed at ₹4,000, while poultry owners may receive ₹100 per bird up to a maximum of ₹10,000. Support will be provided to help 1,000 farmers obtain goats or bullocks, and 5,000 dairy farmers will receive cattle feed up to a limit of 500 kg per farmer.
Fish farmers may receive assistance of up to 75% at a rate of ₹1,12,500 per hectare. Support has also been announced for damaged ponds, embankments, boats and nets, including assistance of up to ₹1.75 lakh per hectare for eligible pond-related losses. Community ponds leased by women’s self-help groups are also covered.
Damaged MSMEs, traders and shopkeepers will be eligible for loan support of up to ₹12 lakh, with a 25% subsidy on loans up to ₹3 lakh. Street vendors, temporary stalls and kiosks will receive ₹10,000, while shops and commercial establishments will receive ₹25,000. Eligible women’s self-help groups will receive an additional ₹5,000 in seed money.
The Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation has been directed to repair lift irrigation points in affected villages on a priority basis and restore all such points before the rabi season.
