In a bid to accelerate the growth of agriculture and horticulture, and promote farming of herbal plants, the Gujarat government on Tuesday announced a horticulture development mission under which unfertile and fallow land will be allotted to farmers and non-farmers on lease for a period of 30 years.
Making an announcement in Gandhinagar, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said this would double the income of farmers and generate employment.
In the first phase, the state government has identified 20 lakh hectares of land and the survey numbers will be soon put up on the i-Khedut portal.
Agriculture secretary Manish Bhardwaj told THE WEEK that the survey numbers will soon be available on the portal, and any individual, group, company or organisation can apply for land. The aspirant will have to ascertain his/her/their credentials and come up with proposals. The decision on final allotment of land will be taken by a high power committee, headed by the chief minister. Among others, the committee would also include the chief secretary, deputy chief minister and agriculture minister. Before reaching the high power committee, the applications would go through the respective collectors and a technical team.
In the first phase, land will be allotted in Patan, Kutch, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha and Surendranagar. The land per project will range from 50 to 400 hectares, and the lease will not exceed a period of 30 years.
While even a non-farmers can apply, he or she would not get a 'farmer status' as the land will continue to be in the name of the state government.
There will be a nominal lease rate and a security deposit. For the first five years, rent will be exempted. From 6th to 10th year, the rent will be Rs 100 per acre per annum; from 11th to 20th year, Rs 250 per acre per annum; and from 21st to 30th year, Rs 500 acre per per annum. One-time charge of Rs 2,500 per acre will have to be paid when the land is allotted.
Rupani said the state government would provide one-time subsidy of 70 per cent as per the norms and rates of Gujarat Green Revolution Company Limited for drip irrigation or sprinklers.
The chief minister said out of 196 lakh hectares land in Gujarat, 50 per cent (98 lakh hectares) is being utilised for farming.
According to him, Gujarat has contributed 9.20 per cent to India’s fruit and vegetable production in 2019-20.