Gandhinagar: The Gujarat govt on Wednesday announced a relief package of Rs 1,419.62 crore for farmers who suffered crop damage because of heavy rains in Aug this year. The govt said that a survey was also underway to assess crop damage because of rain in Oct.
Briefing reporters after the state cabinet meeting, govt spokesperson Rushikesh Patel said a sum of Rs 1,097.31 crore will be disbursed from the State Disaster Relief Fund, while a provision of Rs 322.33 crore will be made from the state budget.
Providing details of crop damage due to rain in Aug, the minister said that heavy rain affected 6,812 villages across 136 talukas in 20 districts. Based on detailed surveys conducted by 1,218 teams, assistance will be provided to over 7 lakh farmers, the minister said.
State agriculture minister Raghavji Patel said that for non-irrigated crops with 33% or more damage, Rs 8,500 will be provided, along with Rs 2,500 from the state budget, totalling Rs 11,000 per hectare, with a maximum limit of 2 hectares.
For rain-fed or irrigated crops with 33% or more damage, Rs 17,000 will be provided, along with Rs 5,000 from the state budget, totalling Rs 22,000 per hectare, with a maximum limit of 2 hectares. For horticulture crops where damage is more than 33%, Rs 22,500 per hectare will be provided under SDRF norms, with a maximum limit of 2 hectares.
Reacting to the govt's relief package for crop losses, state Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said that farmers faced huge losses due to monsoon and unseasonal rain recently. "The govt should have shown more generosity and announced a crop loss compensation package of at least Rs 10,000 crore. The Congress has made repeated representations to the govt in this regard," he said.