Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel told the Assembly on Wednesday that the state government had sought compensation of Rs 700 crore from the Center for the damage caused by cyclone 'Biparjoy' in June, but had not received any grant till July 31. 'Biparjoy' had hit the Gujarat coast on June 16 with heavy rains. In some parts of Kutch and Saurashtra region, wind speed reached up to 140 kilometers per hour, due to which trees and electric poles were uprooted.

During Question Hour on Wednesday, Congress MLA from Vav in Banaskantha district, Geniben Thakor, asked whether the state government had sought any grant from the Center in view of the damage caused by cyclone 'Biparjoy' in June. On this, the Chief Minister, who holds the Disaster Management Department, said in his written reply that the state government had submitted a memorandum to the Center on June 18, demanding Rs 700.42 crore to compensate for the damage caused by the cyclone.

 

Chief Minister Patel said that the state government has not received any grant from the Center till July 31. As a precautionary measure, before the cyclone hit on June 16, the state government had evacuated about one lakh people to safe places. Due to heavy rains caused by the cyclone, seawater had entered the villages located in low-lying areas. In July, the state government had announced a relief package of Rs 240 crore for farmers affected by the cyclone in the Kutch and Banaskantha districts.