To Assist the Farmers for Construction of Community Base Water Tank/Storage Structure for Efficient Use of Water Through Drip Irrigation

What is the community base water tank scheme?

To Assist the Farmers for Construction of Community Base Water Tank/Storage Structure for Efficient Use of Water Through Drip Irrigation is a state scheme of the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat. The scheme funds a shared water storage tank built to feed a micro-irrigation system across several farms, rather than the small single-farm tank funded under the department's separate individual component.

The scheme pays 50 per cent of the construction cost, subject to a ceiling of Rs 9,80,000, whichever of the two is lower, as a one-time benefit. The money reaches the beneficiary's bank account by Direct Benefit Transfer after the tank is built and physically verified.

Why a community tank rather than an individual one

Gujarat's irrigation constraint is rarely the total quantity of water in a season. It is the timing. Canal rotations run to a schedule set weeks in advance, agricultural electricity for borewell pumps is supplied in fixed blocks, and neither matches what a standing crop needs on a given day. A storage tank decouples supply from demand: water is captured when it is available and released into drip lines when the crop needs it.

A community structure adds a second economy. Drip irrigation performs best at a steady low pressure over long hours, which needs head and volume that a small individual tank cannot deliver. A larger shared tank serving several holdings gives that head, spreads the civil cost across the participating farmers, and justifies the far higher ceiling: Rs 9,80,000 against Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 for the individual component.

Main features

• 50 per cent of construction cost, capped at Rs 9,80,000.
• One-time benefit, not repeatable.
• Open to individual farmers and groups of farmers.
• Micro-irrigation is compulsory; at least 1 hectare under MIS per 75 cubic metres of tank capacity.
• Applications cleared first come, first served within the window.
• Applied for only on iKhedut, ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in.
• Paid by Direct Benefit Transfer after construction and verification.

Who is eligible for the community water tank scheme?

A farmer or group can apply if all of the following are true:

• The applicant is a farmer resident in Gujarat holding agricultural land recorded in the 7/12 and 8-A records.
• The applicant has adopted a micro-irrigation system: drip or sprinkler — on the land the tank will serve. This is a precondition, not a promise for later.
• The MIS area supports the tank capacity claimed: at least 1 hectare of micro-irrigation coverage per 75 cubic metres of tank volume.
• Where the tank is a group structure, the participating farmers have a written agreement recording the shared use and nominating who claims the assistance.
• The applicant holds an Aadhaar number and a bank account in the same name capable of receiving Direct Benefit Transfer.
• The applicant can produce a cost estimate from a competent authority such as a Government Valuer, Taluka Surveyor or MNREGA surveyor.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible

• A farmer with no micro-irrigation system cannot apply. This scheme funds storage for a drip or sprinkler network, so a tank intended to feed flood irrigation is outside its purpose entirely.
• An applicant claiming more tank capacity than the MIS area supports is not eligible for the excess. A 600 cubic metre tank needs 8 hectares under micro-irrigation; if only 4 hectares are covered, the claim is cut back or rejected.
• Residents of other states cannot apply.
• A person with no land record in his or her own name cannot apply, because the 7/12 and 8-A records anchor the claim.
• A beneficiary who has already taken this one-time benefit cannot claim again, nor can a second claim be filed against the same structure by a different member of the group.
• Applications filed outside an announced iKhedut window are not eligible, because the component does not appear on the portal when the window is shut.
• Construction started before the sanction order normally forfeits the claim, since the department cannot verify that the work was done under the scheme.

Note what is not a bar. No income limit and no minimum landholding is published for this component. Both general category and SC or ST farmers are eligible at the same 50 per cent rate, unlike the individual tank component, this scheme does not carry a higher category-specific rate.

How much benefit does the scheme provide?

The subsidy is the lower of the two figures:

• Structure costing Rs 25,00,000 → 50 per cent is Rs 12,50,000 → beneficiary receives the ceiling, Rs 9,80,000.
• Structure costing Rs 19,60,000 → 50 per cent is Rs 9,80,000 → beneficiary receives Rs 9,80,000, the exact break-even point.
• Structure costing Rs 10,00,000 → 50 per cent is Rs 5,00,000 → beneficiary receives Rs 5,00,000.

Above roughly Rs 19,60,000 of verified cost, every additional rupee is funded entirely by the farmers. Groups planning a large structure should design to that number consciously rather than discovering it after the concrete is poured.

Payment is a single transfer after construction and physical verification. There is no instalment schedule and no annual renewal.

What documents are required?

The cost estimate is usually the slowest document, because the surveyor's appointment has to be booked. For a group application the written agreement runs it close: several farmers must agree in writing on who claims, who contributes what, and how the water is shared, and doing that after the window opens is how good applications miss the deadline.

How to apply for the community water tank scheme

1. Open the official portal at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and go to Schemes, then Agricultural Schemes (Khetivadi).
2. Check whether the community base water tank / storage structure component shows as open. Because selection is first come, first served and the per-case amount is large, apply in the opening days of the window rather than the closing ones.
3. Click Apply, then state whether you are a registered applicant. A first-time user chooses "not registered" and completes a fresh registration with an Aadhaar number and a mobile number for OTP verification.
4. Fill the application form with personal details, village, taluka and district, survey number of the tank site, planned tank capacity in cubic metres, the area under micro-irrigation in hectares, the estimated cost and your bank account number with IFSC.
5. Use Update Application to correct anything, then submit and note the application number shown on screen.
6. Confirm the application. iKhedut treats submission and confirmation as two separate steps, and an unconfirmed application never reaches the Taluka Agriculture Office.
7. Print the confirmed application, sign it, attach self-attested copies of the 7/12 and 8-A, Aadhaar copies, micro-irrigation proof, bank passbook, the cost estimate and the group agreement where applicable, and submit the set to your Taluka Agriculture Office.
8. Wait for the sanction order before starting construction, then build the tank, submit the construction bills, and request physical verification so the subsidy can be credited.

How to apply with assistance offline

1. Visit a Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE) at the Gram Panchayat, a Common Service Centre, or the Taluka Agriculture Office with your Aadhaar card, 7/12 and 8-A records, micro-irrigation proof, bank passbook and cost estimate. iKhedut takes only online applications.
2. Have the operator fill and confirm the application in your presence and collect the printout carrying the application number.
3. Submit the signed printout with attachments at the Taluka Agriculture Office and take a stamped receiving acknowledgement with the date.

How do I check my application status?

1. Go to ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and open the Applicant Corner.
2. Select Check application status.
3. Enter the application number and the mobile number registered with the application.
4. Use the same corner to reprint the application or upload pending documents.

A case sitting at "submitted" was never confirmed and will not progress. Given the first come, first served rule, a missed confirmation on this scheme costs a whole year rather than a few weeks.

Why do community water tank applications get rejected?

• Application not confirmed on iKhedut after submission.
• Micro-irrigation area insufficient for the tank capacity claimed, against the 1 hectare per 75 cubic metres condition.
• No micro-irrigation system at all on the land the tank would serve.
• Cost estimate missing or not issued by a competent authority.
• Group agreement missing or disputed, so the department cannot identify a single lawful claimant.
• Construction started before the sanction order.
• Name mismatch between the 7/12 record, the Aadhaar card and the bank account, which stops the transfer even after sanction.
• Repeat claim on a one-time benefit.
• Budget exhausted for the year, the most common outcome for a scheme with a Rs 9,80,000 ceiling, since a district allocation covers few cases.

Key dates and the application window

This component is not open continuously. The Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department opens it on iKhedut once the annual allocation is released and closes it when the district target is filled. Because applications are cleared first come, first served and each sanction consumes a large share of the allocation, the practical window is often much shorter than the announced one. Watch the news and circulars section of ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in, and have the cost estimate, micro-irrigation proof and group agreement in hand before the window opens.

Where do I raise a grievance?

• Taluka Agriculture Office. The first stop, since the file and the physical verification both sit there.
• District Agriculture Officer for delays, capacity disputes and budget-related deferrals.
• iKhedut public contacts page on the portal, which lists the correct officer for each district.
• Directorate of Agriculture, Gujarat, Krishi Bhavan, Sector 10-A, Gandhinagar, for state-level escalation.
• iKhedut helpdesk for technical faults such as a form that will not confirm.

Applying on iKhedut is free. No agent can guarantee sanction of a community tank subsidy, no officer is entitled to a payment for processing the file, and nobody from the department will ask you for your bank OTP.