Harvesting Tools Assistance for Scheduled Tribes (HRT-3)

What is the HRT-3 harvesting tools scheme?

Harvesting Tools Assistance for Scheduled Tribes, coded HRT-3 on Gujarat's iKhedut portal, is a horticulture component run by the Directorate of Horticulture under the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat. The scheme provides financial assistance to farmers belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category, and to farmer producer organisations, for the purchase of harvesting tools and equipment.

"HRT" marks the horticulture family of components on iKhedut. Harvesting tools assistance runs as two caste-linked components within that family:

• HRT-3, Scheduled Tribe farmers and FPOs.
• HRT-4, Scheduled Caste farmers and FPOs.

Both carry substantially the same equipment list. What differs is the applicant category, the budget head, for HRT-3, the Tribal Sub-Plan, which the Tribal Development Department records as part of the roughly 14.75 per cent of the state budget earmarked for tribal development, and the rate of assistance, which is set more generously than for the general category horticulture components.

Why this component exists in the tribal belt. Gujarat's tribal districts run in a belt along the eastern edge of the state, from Ambaji in the north to Umargam in the south, and horticulture is one of the few high-value options on the small, sloping, rainfed holdings typical there. Mango, cashew, custard apple, sapota and a growing vegetable acreage are all crops where the difference between a good price and a poor one is decided in the few days around harvest. Fruit knocked down with a stick bruises and is downgraded. A plucker with a catching net, a clean secateur cut, and ventilated crates instead of gunny sacks protect the grade. These are inexpensive items in absolute terms, but for a tribal farmer with under a hectare they are still capital, and HRT-3 subsidises that capital.

Who is eligible for HRT-3?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer of Gujarat belonging to a Scheduled Tribe, with a caste certificate issued by the Mamlatdar or other competent authority.
• You hold cultivable land in your own name, evidenced by the 7/12 and 8-A records, or by a title recognised under the Forest Rights Act where that is the form your holding takes.
• You grow, or are establishing, a horticulture crop: fruit, vegetable, spice or flower — for which the tool is appropriate.
• You are registered on the iKhedut portal, or register while applying.
• You hold an Aadhaar-linked bank account capable of receiving DBT.
• You are a farmer producer organisation registered under the applicable law, applying on behalf of its member farmers.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not from a Scheduled Tribe. A Scheduled Caste farmer is not eligible under HRT-3 and should file under HRT-4; a general category farmer applies under the corresponding general horticulture component.
• You are a landless labourer, tenant or sharecropper with no land document in your own name.
• You are not a resident cultivator of Gujarat.
• You bought the tool before your application was approved.
• You have already drawn assistance on the same item within the repeat period notified for it on the component page.
• Your invoice is from a supplier that is not approved for the scheme.

How much subsidy does HRT-3 give?

HRT-3 assistance is a percentage of the purchase price subject to a rupee ceiling, with both fixed separately for each tool. A motorised harvester, a hand plucker and a stack of crates carry different rates.

Those rates are notified afresh with the annual budget and appear on the component page on iKhedut when the window opens. This guide does not quote a single figure on purpose: rates change year to year, and a farmer who plans a purchase around an old or unofficial number ends up paying the difference. Open the HRT-3 component on iKhedut, read the percentage and ceiling for your exact item, and take a screenshot before applying.

The subsidy is paid after purchase and verification, by DBT into the farmer's account. It reimburses part of the cost rather than advancing it, so the applicant must be able to fund the purchase first. A real constraint on small holdings, and a good reason to apply for items you can actually afford to buy outright.

What documents are required for HRT-3?

How to apply for HRT-3 on iKhedut

1. Check that the window is open. Go to ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and open the schemes section for the Horticulture department. HRT-3 appears only while the announced application window is running.
2. Choose your applicant status. The portal asks whether you already hold an iKhedut registration number or are applying for the first time. New applicants register with Aadhaar and land details first.
3. Select the HRT-3 component and the exact tool, then read the subsidy rate, the ceiling and the conditions on that component page.
4. Fill the application form with your personal details, village, survey number, area from the 7/12 or forest rights title, caste category, horticulture crop and area, and bank account number and IFSC exactly as printed in your passbook.
5. Submit the application, note the application number, and confirm it on the portal. An unconfirmed application is not treated as filed.
6. Print the submitted application, sign it, attach self-attested copies of the ST certificate, land documents, Aadhaar, bank passbook and any consent form, and deliver it to the taluka or district horticulture office within the period stated on the printout.
7. Wait for the pre-approval order before buying anything.
8. Purchase the tool from an approved supplier after approval and keep the original invoice for verification.
9. Receive the subsidy by DBT once field verification is complete.

How to check your HRT-3 application status

Open ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and use the application status option with your application number. The status runs through submitted, confirmed, received at the office, pre-approved, purchase verified, and payment released. A status stuck at "submitted" means the application was never confirmed online. A status that never reaches "received" means the signed printout did not reach the horticulture office: in the tribal talukas, where the office may be an hour's travel away, this is the single most common gap between a filed application and a paid one.

Why HRT-3 applications get rejected

• ST certificate missing, expired, or issued by an authority not competent to issue it.
• Application not confirmed on the portal after submission.
• Printed application not delivered within the stated period.
• Tool purchased before pre-approval, disqualifying the invoice.
• Land document mismatch, the name on the 7/12 or forest rights title differs from the Aadhaar name, or joint land without a consent form.
• Wrong component. An SC farmer filing under HRT-3 instead of HRT-4.
• Bank details incorrect, so the DBT fails after sanction.
• Target exhausted for the district under the Tribal Sub-Plan allocation.

Help and grievance redressal

• Village level: the Village Computer Entrepreneur, for iKhedut data entry.
• Taluka level: the Taluka Horticulture or Agriculture Officer, who receives the printed application and does the field verification.
• District level: the Deputy Director of Horticulture or District Horticulture Officer, for delays and target questions.
• Tribal district support: the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) office for your district can help identify the right officer and chase a pending file. The Tribal Development Department operates 14 such offices, and can be reached at +91 79 23257703.
• State level: the Directorate of Horticulture and the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, agri.gujarat.gov.in.

Applying under HRT-3 is free. No dealer may make a purchase from him a condition of the subsidy, and no agent may take a commission on the amount you receive.