The 7-point package, which the Chief Minister
unveiled after a review meeting with Ministers and top officials at the
Secretariat, assumes significance in the backdrop of the poor storage in
the Mettur reservoir, and a forecast of erratic rainfall this year,
though the South-west Monsoon hitting Kerala earlier in the day
.
The
package included -
- 12-hour uninterrupted 3-phase power supply for agriculture, as it was done in the last two years, to ensure optimal utilisation of water.
- provide 600-foot, high-density polyethylene pipeline to each farmer at 100 % subsidy.
- Community nurseries will be set up in advance for providing paddy seedlings at 100 % subsidy for starting cultivation, when Cauvery waters reach the delta areas.
- Paddy transplant equipment will be provided to 200 farmer clusters at 100 % subsidy for timely commencement of cultivation. Given the shortage of farmhands, the clusters will be given cono weeders (harvesting machines)
- To enhance the yield, paddy mineral mixtures, zinc sulphate and other inputs for one lakh acres each will be provided at 100 % subsidy.
- Bio-fertilizers and liquid bio-fertilizers will be provided to farmers for 50,000 acres each at 100 % subsidy, besides Gypsum at 100 % subsidy for 60,000 acres.
Usually kuruvai cultivation takes
place on 3.25 lakh acres in the delta districts when there is adequate
storage in the Mettur dam.
The Mettur Dam, with a capacity of 120 feet, has only 41.28 feet of water
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