Gujarat Government Announces Rs 3,795 Crore Relief Package For Farmers Affected By Unseasonal Rains

In the wake of massive unseasonal rains having hit the farmers in Maharashtra and Gujarat and having caused huge crop losses, the government of Gujarat yesterday (23 November) announced one of the biggest relief packages amounting to Rs 3,795 crore, reports The Indian Express.

The package is a build up on the Rs 700 crore relief package announced by the State's government just days ago on 13 November, and comprises of Rs 2,154 crore being channeled from State's Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

On Friday evening, after a detailed meeting with the Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at his bungalow, it was decided to approve Rs 3795 crore relief package for farmers affected by unseasonal rains between 15 October and 20 November, 2019. The unseasonal rains that happened during this period caused post-harvest loss to the farmers… The central government will be providing Rs 2154 crore grant under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), while Rs 1641 crore will come from the state’s budget… It is for the first time that all the farmers in all the villages of Gujarat is getting relief,” said Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel while addressing media persons at the circuit house in Ahmadabad.

The massive relief package is expected to benefit as many as 56.36 lakh farmers from State's 18,369 villages. It should be noted that this marks the first instance of State's farmers from all villages being given a relief by the state government.

It should be noted that only three of the Talukas covering Ahmedabad, Surat and Junagadh cities have been kept out of the package. Meanwhile, to ensure that only true beneficiaries receive the relief funds, the money will be paid only through RTGS, directly to the farmer's bank accounts.