Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government today announced an agricultural relief package of Rs. 350 crores for farmers affected by the heavy rains in the month of July this year.

Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel stated, “as a result of heavy rains in some districts of Gujarat during July 2024, the agricultural and horticultural crops of the farmers were extensively damaged. In response to this dire situation, the state government has announced an agricultural relief package worth Rs. 350 crores.”

Providing details about the relief package, Patel said that during July, around 4,06,892 hectares of land in Junagadh, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Anand, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, and Tapi districts across 45 talukas were affected by the heavy rains. A total of 272 teams were formed to conduct a detailed survey of the affected areas. Based on this survey, assistance will be provided to more than 1.50 lakh affected farmers.

Discussing the norms established for providing assistance to the farmers, the Minister said that affected farmers will receive assistance for crop loss as per the norms of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Additionally, supplementary assistance will be provided from state funds under the state budget, considering the severity of the loss.

As per the standards prescribed by the state government:

1. For a 33 percent or more loss in non-irrigated agricultural crops planted in the Kharif 2024-25 season, Rs. 8,500 will be provided as per SDRF norms, along with Rs. 2,500 from the state budget, totaling Rs. 11,000 per hectare, subject to a maximum limit of 2 hectares per account.

2. For a 33 percent or more loss in rainfed or irrigated crops, Rs. 17,000 will be provided as per SDRF norms, along with Rs. 5,000 from the state budget, totaling Rs. 22,000 per hectare, subject to a maximum limit of 2 hectares per account.

3. For a 33 percent or more loss in perennial horticultural crops, Rs. 22,500 per hectare will be provided as per SDRF norms, subject to a maximum of 2 hectares per account.

The minister further mentioned that widespread damage to horticultural crops such as chiku and mango was reported in Gandevi taluka of Navsari district on July 2, 2024, due to heavy rains accompanied by tornadoes, broken branches, and loss of plantain crops. Substantial assistance has been announced for these affected farmers to mitigate financial loss.

Additionally, in cases where the amount payable based on landholding is less than Rs. 3,500, a minimum of Rs. 3,500 will be paid per account. The difference will be covered by the state budget in addition to the SDRF, the Agriculture Minister added.

It is important to note that the list of affected villages will be announced by the concerned district administration for providing assistance to the farmers. Farmers in the affected villages must apply through the Digital Gujarat portal with supporting evidence from the e-Gram Center at the village level. Additionally, applications for specific assistance in Ganadevi taluka of Navsari district must be submitted to the Taluka Development Officer. DeshGujarat