Gujarat govt announces Rs 10,000 crore relief package for rain-affected farmers

Ahmedabad, Nov 7 (PTI) The Gujarat government on Friday announced a Rs 10,000 crore relief package for farmers whose crops were damaged due to the recent unseasonal rains.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel made the announcement following a comprehensive review of the losses incurred by farmers, said agriculture minister and government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani.

The government will provide assistance of Rs 22,000 per hectare, up to a maximum of two hectares per farmer, Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"To help farmers recover quickly from the extensive damage to their crops, the state government will disburse a total assistance amount of approximately Rs 10,000 crore under this relief package," the minister said.

"If a farmer feels that he was not included in the list of beneficiaries despite incurring losses, he can still apply to seek assistance," he added.

In a statement on X, CM Patel said his government stands by farmers with full sympathy in this hour of natural calamity.

Before deciding on relief package, Patel and other ministers visited affected villages and interacted with the farmers to understand their situation, said an official release.

"In view of the extensive damage to the crops across the state, I am announcing a relief package of Rs 10,000 crore for the sons of the soil. In addition, the state government is also going to purchase groundnuts, moong, urad and soybean worth more than Rs 15,000 crore from farmers at MSP from November 9," the chief minister said.

On October 29, Patel had ordered a survey to assess the crop damage due to unseasonal rains.

Citing preliminary reports, the state government had said over 200 talukas across 33 districts witnessed heavy rainfall from October 23 to 28, and crops in over 10 lakh hectares were affected.

On November 3, Patel visited two villages in Gir-Somnath and Junagadh districts and interacted with affected farmers.

The chief minister instructed more than 5,000 teams of officials to complete, within three days, the survey of losses suffered by farmers in over 16,500 villages of 251 talukas, said the release. PTI PJT PD KRK