A survey will be carried out soon to harvest runoff water from River Cauvery in Hogenakkal to fill up lakes in Dharmapuri, said M.R.K. Paneerselvam, Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, here on Thursday.
The water harvesting project through pipelines had been taken to the notice of the Chief Minister, and after legal consultations, a survey would be carried out, the Minister said.
Mr. Paneerselvam was speaking on the sidelines of a zonal level review meet of the Department of Agriculture, reviewing the functioning in Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Salem and Thirupathur here.
According to Mr. Paneerselvam, as a result of the various schemes announced by the government vis-à-vis agriculture, the farming area had been augmented by 25,000 acres in the zone. The meeting reviewed the implementation of various schemes and the extent to which the schemes were reaching the intended beneficiaries.
The Minister said direct monitoring by the Collectors on the reachability of the agriculture schemes had been put in place. In addition, officials were directed to have direct interaction with farmers to expedite farming development works. Also, the early release of water from Mettur dam had expedited sowing works in the Delta districts.
To build up a base of small and marginal farmers into productive farmers, a subsidy of ₹10 lakh was being given to 4000 small and marginal farmers at minimal interest rates. Further, initiatives to add value to farm produce and prepare them for exports were being done through the Agriculture Marketing Department, Mr. Paneerselvam said.
Earlier, the Minister also presented rewards to farmers for practising innovative farming methods.
