Haryana sees dip in area under kharif crops; Punjab recovers

Haryana,which has set a target of achieving total sowing area of 30.15 lakh hectares in the 2009-10 kharif season,is unlikely to achieve the same because of scanty rains,a Haryana Agriculture Department official said.

The major casualty of less rain in Haryana is paddy as the state has brought only 10.88 lakh hectares under paddy so far against the target of 11.50 lakh hectares. It brought 12.10 lakh hectares under the crop last kharif season.

Areas under bajra,sugarcane,pulses and guar have also come down in this season considerably. Bajra recorded area of 5.48 lakh hectares against 6.10 lakh hectares last year,sugarcane at 75,000 hectares against 90,000 hectares and Guar at 2.60 lakh hectares against 3.70 lakh hectares in last year.

In this season,Haryana has observed 94.9 mm of rainfall from June 1 till August 5 which is 61 per cent less than the normal rainfall. Several districts such as Rohtak,Bhiwani,Hissar,Jind and Fathehabad were affected with deficient rains.

In view of the drought like conditions in the state,Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had even sought a special relief package of Rs 1,000 crore from the Centre to compensate the power utilities for the costly purchase of additional power to facilitate sowing of the kharif crops,bonus of Rs 100 per quintal on paddy and Rs 50 per quintal on bajra.

Punjab has recorded shortfall of 26 per cent in rainfall at 94.3 mm in monsoon,a Met Department official said.

In case of Punjab,despite deficient rains,areas under principal crops like paddy,cotton,sugarcane and pulses are likely to touch last year’s level of 35.23 lakh hectares.

“Even though there have been scanty rains in the northwest region this year,area under different crops in the state will remain same as it was in last year because of farmers’ efforts did not leave area unsown,” a senior official of Punjab Agriculture Department said.