In an effort to provide relief to farmers whose Kharif crops have been damaged during the monsoon, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday, September 21, announced a ₹3,700-crore relief package.
‘In the current year, monsoon was on time… in the beginning, it rained in the right proportion and was favourable to the crops. The crop production was estimated to be good. But in August, heavy rain flooded many farms and damaged crops,’ the CM was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
The CM said that groundnut, paddy, cotton, bajra, pulses and vegetable crops were reportedly damaged.
‘I am announcing a ₹3,700-crore package to help the farmers,’ the CM said. The relief will cover a total of 37 lakh hectares of area under 133 talukas and will benefit 27 lakh farmers.
According to a survey by the agriculture department, crop loss happened in 37 lakh hectares in 133 talukas of 20 district in the state.
Under the package, a farmer, with losses in excess of 33 per cent, will be eligible for relief of ₹10,000 per hectare with a cap of two hectares. However, any farmer, irrespective of minimum land holding will get ₹5,000 as relief, the CM added.
In order to avail the compensation, the farmers are required to make online applications through local e-gram centres. The registration process for the same will begin on October 1, 2020. Once cleared, the compensation will be directly credited to the farmer’s bank account using the direct benefit transfer (DBT).
The districts of Saurashtra were among the most affected during this year’s monsoon. Around 11 talukas each of Rajkot and Amreli districts and 10 talukas, each of Kutch, Junagadh and Surendranagar will benefit from the relief package announced by the state.
Meanwhile, the Khedut Samaj, Gujarat (KSG), has demanded a higher compensation to farmers who suffered crop loss.
‘The state government’s compensation of ₹10,000 and ₹5,000 per hectare is quite less. The relief amount should be increased to help farmers,’ said KSG South Gujarat president, Ramesh Patel.
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