Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government today announced a substantial relief package for farmers affected by crop damage due to excessive rain and flooding in the state. A relief package amounting to ₹1,419.62 crore has been declared, benefiting farmers across more than 6,000 villages.

The package will cover over 7 lakh farmers. Of the ₹1,419.62 crore, ₹1,097.31 crore will be provided from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), with additional assistance of Rs. 322.23 crore from the state budget. In total, 6,812 villages in 136 talukas will be covered across 20 districts.

The districts included in the package are Panchmahal, Navsari, Surendranagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Kheda, Anand, Vadodara, Morbi, Jamnagar, Kutch, Tapi, Dahod, Rajkot, Dang, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Junagadh, Surat, Patan, and Chhota Udepur. However, losses incurred in October are not part of this package. Due to continuous rainfall, the Chief Minister has ordered a damage survey, and a soil erosion survey is currently underway.

This year, heavy rains across the state led to widespread crop destruction. In many regions, ready-to-harvest crops were washed away, leaving farmers without their expected yields. After repeated appeals from farmers, the state government finally announced this relief package for the farmer who suffered crop damage in the month of August. just before Diwali, bringing some festive relief.

Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel assured that assistance will be provided after a thorough survey of soil erosion and crop damage. The Gujarat government has also submitted a memorandum to the Central Government regarding damages, including infrastructure and agricultural losses, totaling ₹9,000 crore. It is estimated that more than 33% of the affected areas have suffered damage, covering around 8.82 lakh hectares of land. DeshGujarat