Mukhya Mantri Bagayat Vikas Mission

The chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, has launched the “Mukhya Mantri Bagayat Vikas Mission”. The mission is also called as the “Horticulture Development Mission”.

Horticultural Development Mission

• This scheme has been launched with the objective of doubling the farmers’ income who are engaged in the horticulture and medicinal farming.

• Under it, the waste land of the government of Gujarat will provide on a thirty-year lease for the purpose of farming the medicinal and horticulture crops.
• The government of Gujarat currently holds 50,000 non-cultivated waste lands. It has planned to provide the land from these waste lands for cultivation. The decision regarding the allotment of the land will be taken by high-power committee chaired by the Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat.
• The list of the waste lands which the government will allot on lease will be released on I-Khedut portal.
• Under the mission, more priority will be given to the farmers who uses the sprinkler and drip irrigation.
• The first phase of the mission will be implemented in the districts of Surendranagar, Kutch, Sabarkantha and Patan.

Features of the mission

• Under the mission, tax on land conversion will be waived off.
• It has fixed the lease amount for the waste land as Rs 100 to Rs 500 per year per acre.
• It allows the lease holders to set up wind mills and solar panels. These panels will be used to generate power. However, the lease holders will not be allowed to sell the instalments.
• Farmers would not get any compensation if the land is returned before the end of lease period.
• The mission has a plan to evaluate the progress made on the land once in five years.

Concerns

The mission will allow to grow only the fruits and medicinal plants. It will not allow farmers to grow cash crops and grains.