Flagship agriculture scheme to benefit 1,997 panchayats in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Chief minister M K Stalin on Monday launched the DMK government's flagship programme 'Kalaignarin Anaithu Grama Orunginaintha Velan Valarchi Thittam', aimed at increasing cultivable area by bringing fallow lands under cultivation, augmenting water resources, increasing productivity to benefit the farmers.
The plan is to implement the programme in 12,525 village panchayats in five years.
Launching the scheme at the Secretariat, the chief minister said one of the seven key areas of his long-term vision for the development of TN was to ensure increased cultivation and contented farmers and the scheme had been envisaged with the objective of wholesome development in agriculture and self-sufficiency in the villages.
"Since the programme is converged and implemented in rural development department's Anna Marumalarchi Thittam village panchayats, the coordination at the villages will be good," the chief minister said. The scheme is implemented at a cost of Rs 227 crore in 1,997 village panchayats in the first year, and 3,204 villages in the second year at a cost of Rs 300 crore. The welfare schemes of all government departments will be channelled into these villages.
At a time when rural development has to become a mass movement, the project is being implemented with the objective of benefiting all farmers in the village through some project, the CM said. "As the schemes are to be implemented jointly with the rural development and panchayat raj department, self-sufficiency will be ensured at the village level and migration to urban areas will be prevented," Stalin said.
As a token gesture, the chief minister gave away government orders to the members of the farmer groups from dry land cluster to dig bore wells, incentives to cultivate horticultural crops, distribution of coconut seedlings and fruit-bearing saplings, and orders to set up micro irrigation facilities by digging wells with 100% subsidy, besides creating farm ponds and setting up agri-clinics. According to sources, the agriculture and farmers' welfare department would divert 80% of its funding to these identified villages.