With the identification of farmer-beneficiaries under way for the ₹61.5-crore assistance package during the kuruvai cultivation season, the authorities are planning to launch the disbursal of assistance in most of the Cauvery delta districts shortly.
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Of the seven districts (Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts in their entirety and parts of Cuddalore, Tiruchi and Ariyalur), the disbursal of assistance has begun in Tiruchi. Prospective beneficiaries will have to register themselves for the package online, and “we expect the disbursal to be inaugurated in the other districts in a few days”, a senior government official said. Over three lakh farmers will be covered.
As of now, 2.3 lakh acres of land have been covered in the delta districts during the cultivation season. The government is planning to achieve a coverage of 5.22 lakh acres. On Monday, the water level at the Mettur reservoir, the lifeline of the delta region for irrigation, stood at 101.61 ft (full level: 120 ft), with the storage being 73.674 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) against a capacity of 93.47 tmc ft. About 12,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) was being discharged, while the inflow was around 3,370 cusecs. Till June 23, Tamil Nadu realised 13.79 tmc ft, as measured by the Central Water Commission at Billigundulu, against its quota of about 7 tmc ft for the elapsed period of the month.
The key component of the kuruvai package is the assistance for fertiliser - 9,000 tonnes of urea at a cost of about ₹5.06 crore; 10,000 tonnes of DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) at a cost of ₹25.65 crore; and 5,000 tonnes of MoP (muriate of potash) at a cost of ₹16.15 crore, covering 1.9 lakh acres with a 100% subsidy. The other component includes the distribution of seeds under the sub-component of crop diversification - millets at ₹0.17 crore; pulses - ₹2.37 crore; oilseeds (groundnut) - ₹0.86 crore; and paddy - ₹4.2 crore. The provision of machinery such as power weeder, power tiller, combined harvester, self-propelled rice transplanter and tractors at subsidised rates is one of the components, for which ₹6.6 crore has been set apart.