The union home ministry has approved financial aid of ₹338.24 cr to the Gujarat government for the lives affected due to the Biparjoy cyclone.

The home minister’s office took to X to announce this aid for the cyclone victims.

The central government had earlier released the 1st instalment of its share amounting to ₹584 cr to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) in Gujarat.

The centre allotted a total fund of ₹7,532 cr for SDRF to Gujarat, as well 21 other states including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra on July 12 as immediate assistance in the wake of heavy rains across the country.

An amount of ₹200 cr was also released in advance from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in August 2023, to help Himachal Pradesh in managing immediate relief operations.

Gujarat govt’s previous appeals for funds

The Gujarat government had stated in the legislative assembly on Sept 13 that the state issued a memorandum to the centre for financial aid of ₹700 cr for the damages caused by the Biparjoy cyclone earlier this year.

In a written reply, CM Bhupendra Patel, who handles the Disaster Management portfolio, stated that as of July 31, it had still not received the amount.

The state evaluated the Biparjoy-caused damage to be ₹1797.82 cr. A memorandum for ₹700 cr aid, however, was submitted to the centre by the state government.

Damages caused by Biparjoy

Gujarat’s western coastal regions experienced the furious Biparjoy cyclone on June 16 this year, which brought heavy rains in the surrounding areas of Kutch and Saurashtra, with wind speeds going as high as 140 kmph, causing severe damage to the infrastructure and ecology.

Gujarat’s electrical and its corresponding departments registered damages worth a whopping ₹909 cr, the roads and buildings department suffered ₹702 cr, the ports and transport department faced damages worth ₹72.72 cr, and the agricultural department suffered damages worth ₹20 cr.

Around 19.16 lakh people residing in 443 villages in eight districts of Kutch and Saurashtra were directly affected by Biparjoy.

The Gujarat government announced a relief package of ₹240 cr in July for farmers affected in the Banaskantha and Kutch regions by the Biparjoy cyclone.

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