The resumption of paddy cultivation in Metran Kayal reached a crucial phase on Saturday with the harvesting of the first batch of paddy cultivated after a hiatus of eight years.
Inaugurating the harvesting, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar made it clear that the LDF government would enact necessary laws to take over fallow productive land to ensure that the State goes back to its moorings in paddy cultivation. “We have to make ourselves self-sufficient in paddy and organic vegetables,” he said and added that the government had targeted doubling of paddy production from the current five lakh tonnes.
The success of Metran Kayal was the effort of joint action on the part of farmers, civil society organisations, department officials and all those who were interested in bringing back paddy cultivation, Mr. Sunil Kumar said. “That the Agriculture Department officials led the movement is of great satisfaction,” he said. According to him, the government had given many opportunities to the Rakindo Group (which owns much of the polder) to join the resumption of paddy cultivation. However, they chose to stay away.
“The government cannot allow anyone to keep productive land fallow. If need be, we will enact necessary law to take back such land. In that case, we will have Metran Kayal turned into government Kayal,” he said. The Minister said there had been many attempts to put pressure on the government to backtrack from the move to resume paddy cultivation at Metran Kayal. Cases have been filed against the Minister and the Principal Secretary, Agriculture, in the Lok Ayukta and various courts.
“In spite of the false cases and malicious propaganda against them, the Agriculture Department would go ahead with the paddy cultivation in Metran Kayal,” he said.
The public meeting organised in connection with the festival was inaugurated by Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac. K. Suresh Kurup, MLA, presided. Actor Sreenivasan released the logo of the Metran Kayal Brand of rice being marketed by Oil Palm India.
