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The Tamil Nadu Government has announced an Rs 69.88 crore support package to save the paddy crop in the Cauvery delta.
The package is in addition to the relief for crop losses, according to an official press release.
The long-term ‘Samba’ paddy crop season (August – February) has been hit by deficit monsoons and poor water availability in the Cauvery. In the backdrop of ongoing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Cauvery water-sharing, the Supreme Court has ordered Karnataka to release 10,000 cubic feet of water from today till the Cauvery River Authority meets and decides on the quantum of water to be released by Karnataka, the release said.
However, while this is a relief, it is not adequate to save the crop, the release said.
The support package will be used to purchase crop protection and irrigation equipment.
The Tamil Nadu Government has said that farmers in the delta areas will get three-phase power for 12 hours daily up to February 2013; a diesel subsidy of Rs 600 per acre will be provided to power 32,000 diesel pump sets to tap surface water for irrigation; 100 per cent subsidy will be provided for farmers to buy HDPE pipes and flexible hoses to carry water from the main irrigation canals and avoid evaporation losses – 180-metre HDPE pipes and 100 m of flexible hoses will be needed for use in 6,000 canals; Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and Agriculture Engineering Department will buy 300 multipurpose boom sprayers to protect the crops that are on the verge of drying; special fertilisers and crop protection chemicals to protect against drying; 500 mini-portable sprinklers will be purchased; and adequater training will be provided to adopt these novel technologies.
The State Government will pay the crop insurance premium of over Rs 30 crore for the farmers in the Cauvery delta areas.
This will give farmers a compensation of Rs 8,692 an acre in case of crop losses.
In addition, the compensation under the disaster relief fund will be hiked to Rs 5,000 an acre from the prevailing Rs 4,000. This will give the farmers a total compensation of Rs 13,692 an acre in case of crop loss, the release said.
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