With the Cauvery water being released from the Mettur dam ahead of the customary date of June 12, the focus has turned to whether the government will provide a package of assistance for this year’s Kuruvai cultivation season.
Last year, after opening the dam on June 12, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced the package to the tune of ₹61.09 crore. Such a package was sanctioned after a gap of three years. Consequently, an additional area of 1.69 lakh acres was brought under cultivation, besides the normal Kuruvai area of 3.21 lakh acres, making a total of 4.9 lakh acres. During the just-concluded budget session of the Assembly, the government called the coverage the highest in 46 years. It expects around 5.22 lakh acres to be covered this year.
K. V. Elankeeran, president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Association, who hails from Kattumannarkoil in Cuddalore district where 30,800 acres will benefit in the cultivation season, demands that the government sanction the package this time too. “The prices of fertilisers are on the rise. The prices of other inputs have also gone up. Only if the package is given will the farmers be able to make a decent gain...,” he says.
However, there is another view among farmers. V Sathyanarayanan, general secretary, Consortium of Cauvery Delta Farmers, says there is no need for the government to give the package. Instead, output-based incentives can be provided. Recalling that the ruling party had promised, at the time of the Assembly election last year, that paddy would be procured at ₹2,500 per quintal, he says the government either can implement it or increase the incentive to ₹200 per quintal, in addition to the minimum support price.
At present, the amounts of incentive are ₹75 per quintal for the common variety and ₹100 per quintal for Grade ‘A’.
When asked for comment, a senior government official says the package constitutes a “policy decision”. The official also points out that invariably, the assistance was provided in the past when the water release was behind the customary date. However, the government would consider various factors before taking a decision, the official adds.
