Gujarat AAP alleges irregularities in farmer relief package distribution

Gujarat’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday raised serious concerns over the state government’s distribution of a relief package announced for farmers affected by unseasonal rainfall, which caused crop losses reportedly worth thousands of crores.

Releasing a statement, Gujarat AAP General Secretary and prominent farmer leader Sagar Rabari alleged significant irregularities in the aid distribution process.

He said, “Unseasonal rain has inflicted crop losses worth thousands of crores. The government carried out a satellite survey and subsequently announced a ₹10,000-crore package, also officially declaring that 42 lakh hectares of farmland were impacted. Despite all these claims, I had full faith in the BJP’s ability to shortchange farmers — and unfortunately, that has now been proven. Today, I am presenting evidence of how injustice has been carried out in the relief meant for farmers.”

According to Rabari, while farmers submitted 29,80,000 crop-loss compensation applications, the government has provided aid to only 3,29,000 farmers so far, without clarifying when the remaining applicants would receive their dues. “The government has offered no transparency on this,” he added.

Rabari explained why he accused the ruling BJP of deliberately shortchanging farmers. He said he had received two official forms regarding a farmer’s crop-loss claim. The first, submitted through a Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE), listed:

- Survey No. 233 — Farm area 0.3675 hectares, crop loss 100%

- Survey No. 474 — Area 0.3881 hectares, crop loss 100%

- Survey No. 616 — Area 0.4352 hectares, crop loss 100%

“The total surveyed farm area was 1.1908 hectares, and the total crop-loss affected area recorded was also 1.1908 hectares — well within the 2-hectare limit, making the farmer eligible to receive the full compensation amount,” Rabari said.

However, he added, the form was later edited by an agricultural officer, and the printed copy he received showed:

- Survey No. 233 — Area 0.3675 hectares, damaged area reduced to 0.33 hectares

- Survey No. 474 — Area 0.3881 hectares, damaged area edited to 0

- Survey No. 617 — Area 0.4352 hectares, damaged area edited to 0

“So, while the originally submitted form recorded 1.1908 hectares of crop loss, the edited form shows total loss area reduced to just 0.13 hectares. Now this farmer will only receive compensation for 0.13 hectares. This is what I call relief manipulation and injustice against farmers,” Rabari said.

He further highlighted that many farmers reportedly received only ₹4,000, blaming this on manipulation in the compensation process. “This is also why, after a satellite survey, the government ordered fresh ground surveys and made farmers refill forms — because the system has been given access to edit submitted forms. To ensure no manipulation takes place, and to fight any that does, every farmer must be ready for a battle,” he asserted.

Rabari concluded, “This time, we will not permit any form of injustice by the government in Gujarat.”