The Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee has urged the Tamil Nadu government to modify the recently announced Agro Industrial Corridor scheme on the floor of the Legislative Assembly in order to retain the protected agricultural zone status of the delta region.
Referring to the announcement made in the Tamil Nadu Budget that ₹1000 crore would be allocated for the corridor between Tiruchi and Nagapattinam, the Committee in a resolution passed at Thanjavur on Saturday said opening the gates for corporates to enter the delta region for setting up of agriculture-related industrial units would only destroy the very objective of declaring the delta region as a protected agriculture zone through the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act, 2020.
The TNPAZD Act was conceived and enacted not only to prevent oil exploration activities but also to develop the zone through integrated farming and enhanced cultivation practices, to promote optimum usage of water and skill building.
Though the Act envisages the promotion of agro-based and allied industries, sustainable agricultural development could not be achieved if large-scale agriculture-based industrial activities, which require vast lands, were allowed in the delta region.
Instead of opening up the delta for corporates, the Tamil Nadu government should modify its proposal by encouraging and supporting small and medium-sized agricultural and or food-based industrial activities by involving the local communities, the resolution added.
Expressing its concern over the meagre amount of ₹5 crore for the promotion of organic farming activities, the Committee passed a resolution demanding financial support for the farmers switching over from the present chemical-based agricultural activities to organic farming activities for three years since the initial periods of change would not bring profits to the farmers. The Tamil Nadu government should adopt the financial support scheme for switching over to organic farming implemented in States such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand.
The Committee also urged the present DMK government to fulfill its 2021 election promise that ₹2,500 per quintal would be offered to paddy and ₹4,000 per tonne for sugarcane.
