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Biporjoy Cyclone: Gujarat cut its budget for natural calamities by 71%

Biporjoy Cyclone gujarat; Gujarat's budget for natural calamities was cut by 71% in 2022-2023 as the state prepared for Cyclone Biporjoy.

By Seerat Bashir 15 Jun 2023

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Biporjoy Cyclone: Gujarat cut its budget for natural calamities by 71%

Gujarat's budget for natural calamities was cut by 71% in 2022-2023 as the state prepared for Cyclone Biporjoy. According to India's Environment in Figures 2023 (SoE in Figures 2023) report, the budget for natural disasters in 2022-2023 decreased in 20 states and one union territory, including Gujarat.

The report highlights that Gujarat, which is expected to be hit by severe Cyclone Biparjoy, reduced its natural calamity spending by 71% in 2022-2023 compared to 2021-2022.

According to a report published in Down To Earth, Gujarat ranks second, after Tamil Nadu, for reducing expenditures related to natural disasters by 100% in 2022-2023. These two states are among 20 states or union territories that have cut their natural disaster spending for the years 2022–2023.

In 2022-2023, Gujarat allocated Rs 7,689.7 billion to deal with natural disasters, a decrease from Rs 2,633 crore in 2021-2022. This is the second time in six years that Gujarat has reduced its budget for natural disasters, with a similar reduction of just over 34% seen during 2017–18 and 2018–19. The budgets to deal with natural disasters experienced a constant increase during the years 2019-2020 and 2020-21.

The analysis further reveals that the budget cut to deal with natural disasters between 2021-22 and 2022-23 was the largest (71%), compared to the previous drop of 34% between 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The DownToEarth-CSE record states that nine states slashed their budgets by between 25% and 70% in 2022-2023 due to natural disasters. Among these states are Assam and Bihar, which are prone to flooding. Assam witnessed the worst flooding in more than a decade in 2022, which claimed more than 300 lives and damaged more than 200,000 hectares of farmland.

Despite these circumstances, Assam reduced its funding to deal with natural disasters by 25% during the same year. The Envi-Stats, 2023 report revealed that this was the first time in six years since 2017-18 that Assam had cut its budget for natural calamities.

For the fiscal year 2022-2023, Assam's budget for disaster relief included Rs 1,916 crore, which is a 25% drop from the Rs 2,557.5 crore allocated for 2021-2022.