Brisk activity is being seen at all the major tanks and waterbodies across Perambalur villages. An array of tractors and trucks is working overtime, removing silt.
What has given a filip to the desilting of waterbodies in Perambalur is the recent decision by the Tamil Nadu government to amend the minor minerals mining rules, allowing farmers to take the nutrient-rich silt from the beds of tanks and reservoirs after paying only loading and unloading charges.
Those who are engaged in pottery can also get clay and sand or a mixture of the two for free. This scheme applies to all of Tamil Nadu barring Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.
Land-owners, particularly those who had kept their agricultural lands fallow due to large deposits of alkaline soil, have welcomed the scheme. J. Murugan, a Perambalur farmer, says that he had lost all hopes of cultivating his 1.5 acres due to alkaline deposits.
“Although I had approached the Department of Mines to fill my land with silt from the lake, I could not get permission. The Chief Minister’s announcement has come as a gift for farmers who had been keeping their lands idle for several decades,” he said.
Mr. Murugan said he spent ₹1.7 lakh at the rate of ₹850 a load for about 200 loads. Each load meant three units of silt from the lake.
Senthil, another farmer of Ayyalur, an adjoining village in the district, said that the tank in his village had a large deposit of silt which can be used for agriculture.
Many farmers say that the expenditure they incur on shifting the silt or clay from the tanks would be an investment toward land reclamation. “We will be spared of incurring any expenditure on fertiliser or pesticide. We are going to wait for one good spell of rain so that the silt and the clay gets mixed evenly. The new field will be suitable for raising any crop then,” farmers say.
Farmers also feel that this scheme should not be a one-time affair and should be implemented on a sustained basis. The scheme has given jobs to many agricultural labourers whose livelihood had been lost owing to the failure of the North East monsoon. Every agricultural labourer involved in filling the fields with earth has been getting a steady income for a week now. Earthmover operators have been working overtime.
“Every load of silt fetches ₹100 for the earthmover operator while the agricultural labourer gets ₹500 for spreading it on the fields,” say the farmers. The expenditure per load depends on the distance between the tank and the field.
