Anbumani seeks crop insurance deadline extension, blaming officials' poll work for poor 48% coverage

CHENNAI: As the deadline for obtaining crop insurance for samba paddy in Tamil Nadu is set to end on Saturday, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the State government to extend the deadline.

In a statement, Anbumani said that only 48% of the crops cultivated in the Cauvery Delta districts have been insured so far. If the deadline is not extended, farmers will not be able to secure their Samba crops.

"In the Cauvery Delta districts, samba and thaladi crops have so far been planted on 8,69,571 acres. Cultivation is still ongoing in several lakh acres more. However, insurance has been obtained only for 4,16,241 acres out of the total cultivated area. Due to procedural difficulties, the remaining crops have not yet been insured," he said.

He added that during the samba and thaladi, farmers are required to pay an insurance premium of Rs 564 per acre for paddy crops. Upon doing so, they are eligible to receive compensation of up to Rs 37,600 per acre if their crops are damaged due to natural calamities. The government has announced that the insurance premium must be paid by November 15, but even now, less than half the crops have been insured.

"Village administrative officers and other revenue department officials are currently engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, making it difficult for farmers to obtain the cultivation certificates required for crop insurance. As a result, farmers in many areas have not been able to insure their crops," he said.

In another statement, Anbumani has urged the state government to immediately release the pending wages of Rs 1,251 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).