S. Sarma, MLA and Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Estimates, has said that the panel will recommend to the government to conduct a comprehensive and scientific study on land use in the district.
Speaking after attending a review meeting here on Thursday to assess the loss to agriculture sector in the district in the recent flood, Mr. Sarma said that land use based on scientific study was the need of the hour.
Human intervention
Many a time human interventions such as unscientific construction, mining, and agricultural practices in ecologically fragile areas caused natural disasters, he said, adding that continuation of such practices would destroy the biodiversity.
The panel members, Manjalamkuzhi Ali, A.P. Anilkumar, Kovoor Kunjumon, T.V. Rajesh and C.K. Saseendran, MLAs, attended the meeting. The panel directed the officials to provide compensation to the flood victims in a time-bound manner.
District Collector A.R. Ajayakumar presented the total losses in the district in the floods. Deputy Director, Agriculture Department, Benny Joseph presented a report on the loss to agriculture sector and the actions needed to mitigate farmers’ problems.
The farming community sustained losses to the tune of ₹1,008.65 crore in the flood, Mr. Joseph said. An additional financial assistance of ₹10 crore was needed for natural calamity relief measures and ₹1.5 crore for crop insurance scheme, he said.
He said steps were needed to provide an input cost of ₹18,000 a hectare to farmers. A sum of ₹75 crore was needed for the purpose .
Paddy cultivation resumed on 1,058 hectares in the district after the floods and 84.66 tonnes of paddy seeds were distributed for the purpose. Plantain rhizomes for cultivation on 2,000 hectares were also distributed, he said.
A sum of ₹10.14 crore had been disbursed to farmers as natural calamity relief, he said. The panel visited flood affected areas in the district.