Whitefly attack compensation: Cotton farmers paid ‘peanuts’ by cheque

A cheque for Rs 149 issued to a farmer. (Express Photo)

Cotton farmers, who have lost their entire crop to whitefly attack, are being compensated by the government but many complain that they received cheques worth only Rs 80, Rs 149, Rs 760 and so on instead of the promised Rs 8,000 per acre.

In Bathinda, Sahib Singh of ManakKhana village got a cheque worth Rs 149 while in Mansa, yet another farmer Shinder Singh got cheque worth Rs 760. Another cheque of Rs 80 was also given to one Bathinda farmer. DC Dr Basant Garg said,”At times, farmers work on joint land holdings and out of that, only a small area is damaged. So separate cheques are issued in the name of all the family members or the society under which the farmers work. So in the present case, the small amount must be of those farmers who work in joint land holding, otherwise compensation Rs 8,000 per acre.”