IMPHAL, Jan 30: Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) on Tuesday alleged that the Manipur government has failed to release Rs 38.60 crore, which the Centre sanctioned to compensate farmers who are affected by the ongoing violence in Manipur.
Denouncing the non-release of the sanctioned amount, the farmers’ wing of COCOMI set a February 10 deadline to the government to release the amount to the beneficiary farmers.
If not, the farmers’ wing will join hands with the farmers to launch intense forms of agitations, Laishram Kiran, the coordinator of COCOMI farmers’ wing warned the government, during a press conference held at the UCM office in Imphal today.
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He said that the Centre had already sanctioned Rs 38.60 crore to the Manipur government for paying compensation to the farmers of the state who are affected by the ongoing crisis.
The fund is meant for onward distribution to the farmers in the fringe areas, who could not carry out their farming activities owing to the violent conflict.
All the people across the state are suffering because of the prevailing conflict and the delay in releasing the fund added another hardship to the distressed farmers, he said.
The farmers are under immense hardship and to relieve them from this hardship, they needed the fund to be given to them as compensation, the coordinator also said.
He reminded and said that the chief minister and the minister concerned had on many occasions assured that the compensation would be released at the earliest to ease their suffering of the farmers. However, the farmers are yet to receive the compensation.
Attending the press conference, COCOMI coordinator Somerendro Thokchom said that they will fully support the agitations to be launched by its farmers’ wing if the state government fails to release the fund to the beneficiary farmers within the stipulated time.
Agricultural activities could not be undertaken in 5,127 hectares in Manipur due to ethnic violence as per an independent survey conducted by a farmer based body.
It is estimated that the total income loss for the state in the agricultural sector this year could be around Rs 226.50 crore.
Of this, the highest loss will be in rice production to the tune of Rs 211.41 crore which accounts for 93.36 per cent of the total agriculture and allied activities followed by livestock farming.
The Centre had given a Rs 38.60 crore compensatory package to provide relief to affected farmers. (NNN)
