Assistance for Power Driven Chaff Cutter Scheme under Tribal Area Sub Plan (TASP - ST Category)

What is the chaff cutter assistance scheme under the Tribal Area Sub Plan?

Assistance for Power Driven Chaff Cutter under the Tribal Area Sub Plan (TASP) is a livestock input subsidy run by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry within Gujarat's Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department. The TASP component is reserved for Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries, which is what the "ST Category" in the scheme's name signifies.

A power driven chaff cutter, known in Gujarati as a kadba kutti (કડબ કટર), is an electric machine that chops green or dry fodder into short lengths before it is fed to cattle. The reason a government department pays for one is economic rather than mechanical. When long fodder stalks are thrown whole into a trough, cattle eat the soft leaf and leave or trample the hard stem, and a large share of the fodder is wasted. Chopped fodder is eaten almost completely, digested better, and stretches the same quantity of grass or maize stover across more feeding days. For a tribal household keeping two or three milch animals, that translates directly into more milk sold to the village dairy from unchanged fodder costs.

The Tribal Area Sub Plan is the mechanism by which Gujarat earmarks a proportionate share of departmental budgets for Scheduled Tribe populations in the state's scheduled areas. TASP components run alongside a general component and, in many schemes, a Scheduled Caste Sub Plan component. Which component you apply under is decided by your caste category, not by your choice.

Applications for this scheme are filed on iKhedut (ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in), Gujarat's single-window subsidy portal for agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries schemes.

A note on figures. The subsidy rate and unit cost ceiling for the chaff cutter are fixed by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry for each financial year and published on the iKhedut scheme card when the window opens. Those numbers change from year to year with the departmental budget, so this guide does not quote a rupee figure. Read the rate off the live iKhedut scheme card before you buy the machine, and do not rely on a figure quoted by a dealer.

Who is eligible for the TASP chaff cutter subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You belong to a Scheduled Tribe notified for Gujarat and hold a valid ST caste certificate from a competent authority.
• You are a cattle keeper or dairy farmer in Gujarat, keeping milch animals.
• You are a resident of Gujarat with your village, taluka and district recorded correctly on iKhedut.
• You hold a bank account in your own name, Aadhaar-seeded, because the subsidy is released by direct benefit transfer.
• You are applying during an open iKhedut window for this scheme component.

You are not eligible and cannot apply under this component if:

• You are not from a Scheduled Tribe. General, SC and OBC applicants must use the general component or the Scheduled Caste component of the chaff cutter scheme, which the Animal Husbandry Department lists separately on iKhedut. Applying under the wrong component is the most common reason a chaff cutter application is rejected in Gujarat.
• You keep no cattle. This is a livestock scheme, not a general farm machinery scheme, and taluka verification checks for milch animals.
• You have already received a chaff cutter subsidy under this or a related component. Repeat claims for the same equipment are rejected as duplicates.
• Your bank account is not in your own name or is not Aadhaar-seeded, so DBT cannot reach it.
• The iKhedut window for this component is closed for the year. This is not a rejection on merit, the portal simply will not accept the application.

What documents do I need?

Keep the original purchase bill. Chaff cutter subsidies are almost always released against a verified purchase, and a photocopy or a handwritten slip from an unregistered dealer will not clear scrutiny.

How to apply for the chaff cutter subsidy on iKhedut

1. Open ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and go to the Schemes section. Select Animal Husbandry (Pashupalan) and look for the power driven chaff cutter component for the Tribal Area Sub Plan / ST category. If the component shows as closed, note when the next window is announced.
2. Choose whether you are a registered or unregistered applicant on iKhedut. A registered applicant logs in with the existing iKhedut number; a new applicant selects the unregistered route and fills details fresh.
3. Fill the application form: name as on the caste certificate, Aadhaar number, district, taluka, village, caste category, land survey number where applicable, number of milch animals, and bank account with IFSC code.
4. Submit the application and note the application number shown on the confirmation screen. Nothing can be tracked or corrected without it.
5. Confirm the application using the "confirm application" option on the portal. An unconfirmed iKhedut application is not forwarded for scrutiny, and this step is the one applicants most often miss.
6. Print the confirmed application, sign it, attach self-attested copies of the ST certificate, Aadhaar card, bank passbook and land or residence record, and submit the file at your taluka or district animal husbandry office within the days the portal specifies.
7. Wait for pre-sanction approval from the department. Do not buy the machine before the sanction unless the scheme card explicitly permits it; purchases made outside the approved sequence are commonly disallowed.
8. Buy the chaff cutter from an approved supplier after sanction, obtain the original bill, and submit it for verification.
9. Receive the subsidy by direct transfer into your Aadhaar-seeded bank account after the taluka officer verifies the machine and the bill.

How to apply with assistance

1. Visit your taluka animal husbandry office, the district animal husbandry office or a Common Service Centre and ask for help filing the iKhedut application.
2. Carry your ST caste certificate, Aadhaar card, bank passbook and land or residence record so the form can be completed in one sitting.
3. Take the printed and confirmed application and the acknowledgement with you when you leave.

Village-level extension staff and the local veterinary dispensary can also tell you when the animal husbandry windows on iKhedut open, which is the single most useful piece of information for a scheme with a limited application period.

How do I check my application status?

Use the application status option on ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in with your application number. The portal shows whether the application was confirmed, received at the taluka, scrutinised, sanctioned or rejected. If the status has not moved for a long period, visit the taluka animal husbandry office with your printed application rather than filing a second one; duplicates are rejected and push the original back in the queue.

Why chaff cutter applications get rejected

• Applied under the wrong component, a non-ST applicant filing under TASP, or an ST applicant filing under the general component. Check the component name on the scheme card before you start.
• Application never confirmed on iKhedut. An unconfirmed application is invisible to the department.
• Printed application not submitted to the taluka office within the specified days.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded or not in the applicant's own name, so the DBT transfer fails after sanction.
• Name mismatch between the Aadhaar card, caste certificate and bank record.
• Target exhausted for the year. iKhedut components close when the physical target is met, and applications beyond it are not carried forward automatically.
• Purchase made before sanction, or bought from a supplier outside the approved list, so the bill is disallowed at verification.
• Duplicate claim, a chaff cutter subsidy already drawn by the same beneficiary.

Key dates

The Directorate of Animal Husbandry does not run this component all year. iKhedut opens scheme-wise application windows within the financial year, which runs 1 April to 31 March, and closes each window when the target for that component is filled. Windows are frequently short — a few weeks, sometimes only days, so the practical advice is to check the iKhedut scheme list at the start of the financial year and again whenever the department announces a new round, rather than waiting for a notification.

Where do I get help or complain?

• Taluka animal husbandry office, the first point of contact for application, verification and status.
• District animal husbandry office, for a stalled or wrongly rejected application. District-wise contact details are published on the Directorate's website at doah.gujarat.gov.in under its contact section.
• Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Gujarat, doah.gujarat.gov.in. The state authority for the scheme and the escalation point above the district.
• iKhedut portal, ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in, for application, confirmation and status queries.

The Directorate does not publish a single toll-free helpline for this scheme on its website, so this guide does not quote one; use the district-wise contact list on doah.gujarat.gov.in instead. Applying is free at every stage, and no dealer or agent can guarantee you a sanction.