GUJRAT: About 30,000 farmers of the district who were affected by the floods during the previous season of the paddy crop would get financial assistance from the federal government’s relief package, said sources in the revenue department and the district government.

A delegation of about 200 farmers of Gujrat had also attended the Islamabad convention two days back where the prime minister announced the package for farmers.

A survey conducted by the local revenue department as well as Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Service Corporation Limited (Passco) put the total figure of the paddy cultivated land in the district at around 92,000 acres.

An official in the district government told Dawn that Rs5,000 per acre would be reimbursed among the affected farmers. He said the people in Gujrat district did not own bigger chunks of land and most of them had land in kanals rather than acres that’s why the number of affected farmers was so big and their lists were being made round the clock in the DCO Office. He said though the lists were still being prepared but the number of affected farmers from the district might reach around 30,000 and the deadline to complete the lists was Sept 21.

According to the official policy, only the paddy and cotton crop farmers were entitled to be the beneficiaries of the scheme.

A farmer having 12.5 acres of land or below it and he had not received financial assistance from government during the last year’s flash floods can receive the financial assistance.

Apart from the two departments of the federal and provincial governments, a third party validation will also be done of the farmers who are being included in the lists of potential beneficiaries.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2015

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