Alleging that many primary agricultural cooperative societies were not sanctioning fresh crop loans, farmers representatives of Tiruchi district on Friday urged the district authorities to take steps to sanction fresh crop loans to farmers immediately.
The farmers alleged that secretaries and officials in many PACS were turning away farmers saying that fresh crop loans would be sanctioned only in September and October. Raising the issue at the farmers’ grievance day meeting, Ayilai Sivasuriyan, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to Communist Party of India, said that officials in cooperative societies claimed that they were yet to receive guidelines on issue of fresh crop loans consequent to the waiver of loans announced by the State government.
Several other farmers, including P. Ayyakkannu of the Desiya Thennindia Nadhigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam, P. Viswanathan, president, Tamizhaga Eri Mattrum Attru Pasanga Vivasayigal Sangam, said secretaries of cooperative societies in Musiri, Manachanallur and other places were saying fresh crop loans would be sanctioned only by October.
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Joint Registrar of Cooperatives K.C. Ravichandran, while responding to the complaints, however, said that no such direction had been given to the cooperative societies and they s would sanction fresh loans now. There could have been some delay as the societies were compiling information on beneficiaries of crop loan waiver, he said.
Collector K.S. Palanisamy, agreeing to the farmers’ suggestion, said the Joint Registrar would hold meetings with secretaries and farmers of the respective areas within a week and issue necessary instructions to the cooperative societies.
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Sediment issue
R. Raja Chidambaram, State secretary, Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, urged the district administration to allow farmers to take and transport tank sediment (vandal munn) from irrigation tanks for agricultural purpose. Farmers were faced with depletion of soil nutrients in their fields and tank sediment could enrich the soil, he said.
As per provisions of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules,1959, and a government order issued in September, 2015, farmers should be allowed to quarry the tank sediment without permission. Farmers could be allowed to take the tank sediment up to at least 50 units, he said.
Mr. Ayyakannu regretted that small farmers who took tank sediments were being fined even while indiscriminate sand mining was allowed on rivers.
Mr. Ayilai Sivasuriyan and Puliyur A. Nagarajan, president, Farmers Wing of the Tamil Mannila Congress, urged the State government to take steps to get Tamil Nadu’s due share of water in the Cauvery from Karnataka at least for the ‘samba’ season.
Earlier, a group of farmers led by Mr. Viswanathan staged a symbolic protest by dumping paddy on road to press their demand for increasing the paddy procurement price to Rs.2,500 a quintal.