Gandhinagar, July 15: The Gujarat government has unveiled a comprehensive relief package for residents, traders, and businesses affected by the recent floods in Surat. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi announced that the state will allocate approximately ₹550 crore over the next three years for these measures.
The package was approved during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday. This decision comes a week after heavy rainfall began on July 6, which led to extensive flooding in Surat’s residential, commercial, and industrial areas.
In just two days, the city experienced nearly 20 inches of rain, prompting large-scale rescue operations, disrupting businesses, and damaging homes, shops, and industrial units. Thousands were evacuated from low-lying areas, schools remained closed, and relief efforts continued for several days.
While announcing these measures, Sanghvi mentioned that the Chief Minister had instructed officials to conduct an immediate and thorough survey of residential, commercial, and industrial damages during his visit to Surat. He also directed the distribution of cash assistance and household aid, expedited cleaning operations across the city, deployed health teams for door-to-door visits, and organized medical camps in affected areas.
Sanghvi noted that around 9,000 sanitation workers, including personnel sent from municipalities across Gujarat, have been working around the clock for the past week to restore normalcy.
To date, over 19,000 citizens have received cash and household assistance. More than 19,800 individuals whose ground-floor homes were flooded have also been supported, while approximately 36,000 residents living on upper floors, who could not go to work due to property damage, have received special assistance.
Additionally, the government has announced direct financial aid for businesses impacted by the floods. Owners of damaged handcarts and pushcarts will receive ₹7,500, while owners of cabins up to 40 square feet will get ₹25,000. Those with cabins larger than 40 square feet will receive ₹50,000, and permanent shops will be granted ₹1 lakh in aid. For GST-registered traders operating permanent shops, the government has introduced an interest subsidy scheme, covering 7% interest on business loans for three years.
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