Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the state government had transferred Rs 493 crore in agricultural input assistance to more than nine lakh farmers affected by floods, excessive rainfall, hailstorms and cyclones, while ordering the immediate restoration of roads and other infrastructure damaged by rain.
Speaking in Gorakhpur, Adityanath said the assistance had been delivered through Direct Benefit Transfer, allowing funds to reach beneficiaries’ bank accounts directly. He said officials had assessed crop and livestock damage in about 10 days before releasing the support.
The chief minister said the state had provided around Rs 1,000 crore in financial assistance to citizens during the current monsoon season. Families whose houses were damaged by excessive rainfall, cyclones and floods were also being given Rs 1.20 lakh under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana, he said.
Adityanath directed officials to repair roads damaged by rain as soon as weather conditions improve. He said funds had already been released and that the Public Works Department, irrigation, urban development and housing departments, along with development authorities, had been provided resources for repairing damaged roads and other infrastructure.
The announcement links disaster relief with the functioning of several departments responsible for roads, drainage, housing and local infrastructure. The state’s assistance package covers both direct payments to affected farmers and support for families whose houses have suffered damage, while road repairs are to be taken up through departmental and development authority machinery.
The chief minister also said an Early Warning Weather System was being put in place to provide advance signals about lightning and heavy rainfall. Rain gauges were being installed to measure actual rainfall conditions, he added.
Under the Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Bima Yojana, farmers, sharecroppers and members of their families affected by natural disasters such as lightning are eligible for assistance of Rs 5 lakh, according to the chief minister. He instructed officials to ensure that the compensation was provided immediately. The government had already released Rs 169 crore to farmers affected by floods, cyclones and hailstorms, he said.
Adityanath also alleged that previous Congress and Samajwadi Party governments had failed to ensure that relief funds reached farmers. Referring to the 2013 Cyclone Hudhud damage, he claimed that the Centre had sent Rs 3,200 crore but only Rs 800 crore reached farmers. He said an investigation ordered after he became chief minister in 2017 found that the full amount had not reached beneficiaries, following which additional funds were arranged.
The chief minister contrasted the current DBT system with earlier delivery mechanisms and said government assistance now reached beneficiaries directly. He also cited the waiver of Rs 36,000 crore in loans for 86 lakh small and marginal farmers after the BJP government took office in Uttar Pradesh, as well as free electricity for 16 lakh private tubewells.
The immediate administrative priorities outlined in the announcement are the completion of relief transfers, assistance to disaster-affected households, installation of weather-monitoring equipment and repair of rain-damaged roads and infrastructure once weather conditions permit.
