Declare locust menace national disaster: Rajasthan Agri minister

Swarms of locust in the walled city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, Monday, May 25, 2020. More than half of Rajasthan’s 33 districts are affected by invasion by these crop-munching insects. Credit: PTI Photo

Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria on Friday urged the Centre to declare the menace of locusts a national disaster as he demanded the Union government to release the first instalment of centrally-sponsored schemes at the earliest.

Kataria was interacting with the Union Agriculture minister in a video conference.

Apart from Kataria, Nagaur MP and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) convenor Hanuman Beniwal also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare locust problem a national disaster.

Giving information about the outbreak and control of locusts and crop loss in the state, Kataria also asked the Agriculture Insurance Company to pay the outstanding insurance claim of Rs 380 crore for Kharif-2019 of farmers at the earliest.

Kataria claimed that the first instalment of most of the centrally-sponsored schemes for the year 2020-21 has not yet been released. In view of the interest of farmers, the first installment of all schemes should be released immediately to the state, he said.

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