Stating that Tamil Nadu was facing a “drought situation” due to deficient rainfall during the northeast monsoon, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam has announced that committees comprising senior Ministers and IAS officers would be constituted to monitor visits by District Collectors to drought-hit areas and receive their reports.
Between October 1 and December 31, 2016, the State had recorded only 168.3 mm of rainfall, as against the seasonal average of 440 mm. As many as 21 of the 32 districts recorded deficit rainfall of over 60 per cent, while the remaining 11 districts received deficit rainfall ranging between 35 and 59 per cent. “As per the Centre’s revised guidelines, the crop condition in 10 per cent of the villages should be inspected to decide whether or not to declare the districts concerned as drought-hit,” Mr. Panneerselvam said in a statement. All District Collectors, with the exception of Chennai, have been instructed to inspect the crop condition and drought situation and submit their reports to the government. The committees, tasked with ensuring that the reports are received by the government at the earliest, would be visiting the districts till January 9 before submitting their report on January 10. Based on these reports,the government would initiate relief measures accordingly.
The Chief Minister also assured that the government would grant suitable relief for affected crops after the high-level committee submits the report on the condition of the crops. “In addition to the relief, farmers could make claims from crop insurance companies,” he clarified.
As much as 86 per cent of crops cultivated in 12.86 lakh acres in the Cauvery delta have been insured. About 6.71 lakh farmers in non-delta regions have insured their crops paying a premium totalling ₹36.30 crore. The State is contributing ₹410 crore as its share of premium. “In the case of paddy, claims up to ₹25,000 per acre could be made based on the loss incurred. For other crops, it would depend on the loss,” he said.