MUMBAI: Nearly 9 lakh cotton farmers have approached the Maharashtra government seeking compensation for failed crops after a severe pest attack. After complaints of huge losses, the state government has deployed its machinery to survey the affected districts and has also invited applications from the farmers seeking compensation from the seed companies.According to preliminary estimates, nearly 50% of the cotton crop in the state have been affected by the pink bollworm attack, a major cotton pest. The attack has affected the third cotton picking cycle, leading to unprecendeted losses to the state’s farmers.Senior agriculture department officials said that so far 66 lakh quintals of cotton has reached the market, as against a total estimate of 160 lakh quintals for the entire season which will last till March 2018. Every one quintal lost means a loss of Rs 4,320 less for a cotton grower.Agriculture minister Pandurang Phundkar announced a compensation of Rs 30,800 per hectare for rainfed land and Rs 37,500 per hectare for irrigated land. And a bonus of Rs 200 has been announced per quintal for a maximum limit of 50 quintals. Large-scale use of genitically modified or Bt cotton seeds that are failing to keep pest at bay, is one of the main reasons for the crisis. This issue gains further significance in Maharashtra as nearly 96% of the cotton crop cultivated in the state is by using Bt seeds—of which majority is by using twin gene Bt seeds. The use of illegal variety of Bt seeds—herbicide tolerant seeds, that has some part to play in the crisis. Officials said that the number of the affected farmers is likely to increase as the survey is yet to be completed. “Besides details like area under cultivation and the extent of loss, we are also asking the farmers for the receipt of the amount paid to the seed company and also the amount spent on fumigation,” said an official.