Bhubaneswar: In a significant move to support farmers, the Odisha Government declared unseasonal rain as a State-Specific Disaster. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi approved a proposal in this regard today.

The decision enables farmers affected by unseasonal rainfall to receive financial assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Per the approved plan, 10% of the SDRF’s annual allocation will be specifically earmarked to compensate for losses caused by such rain events.

With this inclusion, the number of State-Specific Disasters in Odisha has risen to nine.

Earlier, recognised disasters under this category included heatwave, whirlwind, tornado, heavy rain, boat mishaps in non-flooded water bodies, drowning, and snake bites.

In addition to these State-Specific Disasters, 12 calamities have been identified by the Central Government for disaster relief support.

In December 2024, unseasonal rainfall damaged approximately 22,791 hectares of farmland in Odisha, affecting nearly 6.66 lakh farmers. In response, Chief Minister Majhi announced unseasonal rain as a State-Specific Disaster and sanctioned a farm input subsidy of ₹291 crore to assist those impacted.