Announcing the decision in a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting in Mantralaya, Chief Minister Narayan Rane said the decision would help farmers in the State's 21 districts. ``Untimely rains destroyed crops over 40,000 hectares of land statewide. The damage was the worst in the districts of Nanded, Nagpur, Yavatmal and Ahmednagar. The existing policy provides that if more than 50 per cent of the crop is lost, farmers should be compensated in the form of seeds, valued at Rs 1,000 per hectare. The compensation, however, is limited to two hectares. But treating the untimely rains this year as a special case, the Cabinet has decided to compensate the farmers in cash and that too, for five hectares,'' Rane said.

Tendu leaves: Bowingto pressure from contractors engaged in the plucking of tendu leaves - in which bidis are rolled - the State Cabinet today reverted to awarding tenders for the activity. The State Government had revised the procedure in December 1998, making it mandatory for contractors to pay more to unorganised workers plucking the leaves.

Rane said the Cabinet had to revert to the old policy to help workers and ensure they can earn at least the minimum wages prescribed by the State Government. He said the contractors had refused to submit tenders for plucking tendu leaves, putting the entire process in jeopardy. ``Had we not acted in time, the season for plucking leaves would have been over. This would have resulted in workers' starvation and a revenue loss of over Rs 36 crore to the State Government,'' Rane said. The contractors can now pay workers at lesser rates as the old rules give the State Government no control over wages. Rane said the Cabinet had decided to appoint a high-level committee to draft a procedure bywhich the government will not have to rely on contractors for plucking tendu leaves. He added that the committee would submit its report soon and the government will take action accordingly.

Rane, however, did not say how many farmers would be eligible for compensation.

Land Transfer charges: The State Cabinet today decided to raise the land transfer charges to generate revenue to the tune of Rs 18 crore annually. Chief Minister Narayan Rane said the Revenue Act will be amended to this effect immediately.

At present, land transfer charges -- three times the cost of declaring the land as non-agricultural (NA) -- are collected from both the parties involved in a land deal. With today's decision, the charges will be five times the cost of declaring the land as NA.

Rane said the charges were last revised in 1979. He added that the revised charges will be applicable to land deals within eight km of 14 municipal corporations, within five kms of the remaining municipal corporations in the State and withinone km of all municipal councils in the State.