Gujarat govt announces Rs 300 cr package for flood-hit regions

Ahmedabad, July 14: The Gujarat government on Tuesday announced a relief package of Rs 300 crore for the flood affected regions in Saurashtra and south Gujarat, including worst-hit Amreli district.

Gujarat government Spokesperson and minister Nitin Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar that out of Rs 300 crore, Centre will contribute Rs 150 crore through Calamity Relief Fund(CRF).

"At present, we are announcing a relief package of Rs 300 crore for affected regions. Out of Rs 300 crore, Rs 150 crore will come from CRF while state government will contribute the remaining Rs 150 crore," he said.

"The package amount may go up, as we are still doing the survey of loss and pay accordingly in days to come" the minister said. Heavy rains had lashed parts of Gujarat causing flooding in Amreli district and Gondal tehsil of Rajkot district on June 24, in which 70 people had died.

Several domestic as well as wild animals including 10 Asiatic lions had also lost their life. Apart from Amreli and Rajkot, several villages of adjoining Bhavnagar district were also affected.

We are announcing a relief package of Rs 300 crore for affected regions: Patel

Strong winds and incessant rain caused considerable damage in some parts of South and central Gujarat, including Vadodara, Bharuch and Valsad.

According to Patel, around 300 villages in Gujarat were affected due to heavy rains and floods, which washed away around 50,000 hectares of agriculture land and caused heavy losses to more than one lakh farmers.

"Floods in Shetrunji and Bhadar river caused maximum damage to farmlands in Amreli and Rajkot district. Under this relief package, we have decided to give a compensation of Rs 25,000 per hectare to the farmers.

This is applicable when the damage to the land in not severe," he said.

PTI