NAGPUR, Aug 1: The Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government's decision to provide relief to farmers in rain-starved regions of the State has come too late for those in Vidarbha. Even before the announcement was made, most of the farmers here had re-sown their lands spending their own money.On Tuesday, the State cabinet took a decision to offer a subsidy on purchase of seeds for re-sowing. The subsidy would be to the tune of Rs 500 per hectare, up to a maximum of two hectares.It is not that the farmers start getting the benefits as soon as a decision is taken. Before they actually get hold of the subsidised seeds, the Agriculture Department officials would have to conduct surveys of the entire scarcity-affected area, prepare reports and panchanamas, catch hold of the patwaris and go through a whole lot of bureaucratic exercises.It could well be another month before the farmers get the actual benefits. No farmer worth his salt would be prepared to wait that long to sow his seeds, particularly when the rain gods seem to have turned generous right at the moment.Normally sowing operations in Vidarbha start by mid-June when the first rains of the monsoon are received. This year, as in the previous season, the monsoon was delayed. The first showers came in the beginning of July and the farmers quickly set about the sowing operations. Then, the rains stopped abruptly.The seeds that had already been sown started to wither. It was at this point in time that the government should have swung into action, considering last season's experience. It was only in the second fortnight of July that the rains reappeared. By that time the sown seeds had completely withered.
