AHMEDABAD: Amidst a raging controversy over the sudden release of water from the Narmada dam, which inundated the districts of Narmada, Bharuch, and parts of Vadodara on September 17-19, the Government of Gujarat on Saturday announced a special relief package for farmers hit by the floods, with standing crops destroyed, and property and houses damaged in around 100 villages along the banks of the river
Congress has called it a “man-made disaster” and demanded an investigation by a special investigation team (SIT). Brackish Water Research Centre, which has been operating in the state since 2003, has even written a letter to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The government said that the package will benefit farmers who have suffered a 33 per cent or greater loss
for the kharif season 2023-24 in villages, subject to a two-hectare cap.According to SDRF guidelines, affected farmers will receive a compensation package of Rs 8,500 per hectare for non-irrigated agricultural crops.They will receive Rs 8,000 in addition to Rs 17,000 per hectare for irrigated agriculture and rainfed horticultural crops.
The assistance for perennial crops will be Rs 15,000 per acre, in addition to the Rs 22,500 granted under SDRF guidelines.Similarly, for 33 per cent or more of perennial horticulture crops uprooted or fallen per hectare, farmers will be eligible for Rs 1,02,500 in addition to the Rs 22,500 provided.Gujarat politics have been on a boil for the past four days as a result of the Narmada Dam’s water flow in Bharuch and Ankleshwar in South Gujarat.
The opposition Congress claims that the BJP government refused to release water from the dam when farmers needed it, instead stored it to the point where the reservoir overflowed on September 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.
However, the Gujarat government asserts that a “cloud burst” between the Indira Sagar Project (ISP) and the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) caused “flash floods.”The special relief package will be provided from the state budget in addition to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to help farmers in the three districts.