Bhubaneswar, Dec. 23: The government will identify sharecroppers for payment of compensation for crop loss on the basis of field inquiry and verification by a village-level committee as there is no database on sharecroppers.

Revenue and disaster management secretary Mona Sharma today said that the list of affected farmers (most of them sharecroppers) would be prepared by the proposed committee on the basis of a joint survey by local revenue and agriculture officials.

The draft list of cultivators who have suffered crop loss will be displayed at public places to ensure fairness in the identification process. The village-level committee, which will be headed by the local sarpanch and will consist of representatives of landowners and members of the joint survey team, will redress the grievances of the affected farmers.

"This method will be adopted, pending the report of the high-power committee headed by the development commissioner for identification of sharecroppers," said Sharma.

At present, the sharecroppers cannot get any compensation from the government for crop loss. Landowners allegedly grab most of the benefits meant for the farmers. Most of those who committed suicide for crop failure were reportedly sharecroppers.

More than 13.41 lakh hectares of agricultural land across the state has suffered from above 33 per cent crop loss.

Sources said the state was planning to amend the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1965, on the basis of recommendation of the high-power committee, which is studying the drafting of the Andhra Pradesh License Cultivators Act, 2011.

According to provisions in the Andhra Pradesh law, sharecroppers can get compensation for crop loss due to natural calamities. They are also entitled to get credit from banks and co-operatives.

But, the existing Orissa Act does not have any provision for compensating sharecroppers. Rather, the Act prohibits leasing out of land and thereby does not recognise the sharecroppers.

"If the Act is amended, it will help in identifying sharecroppers and availing of credit and compensation," said tenant rights activisit Manas Jena.

Official sources said an amendment to the Orissa Land Reforms Act was proposed in 2011, but it could not be enacted allegedly because of pressure from big farmers and landowners.

But this time, the government apparently wants to grant rights to both the sharecroppers and the landowners.