Pay Rs 35k per acre to farmers: Stalin tells CM

Stating the relief assistance provided by the government must at least be a bit of a consolation to the farmers, Stalin, in a statement issued in this regard, asked the CM to immediately pay Rs 30,000 per acre to each farmer as crop insurance and disaster relief without delay. Advising the CM to keep in mind that the tears of farmers would not go in vain and it would defeat even great empires, the DMK president said the CM should immediately announce Rs 30,000 per acre relief to escape the wrath of the farmers.

Sarcastically wondering if the Palaniswami would do it or kill time by lying, as usual, the Leader of Opposition accused the AIADMK regime of not disclosing as to who it had paid the Rs 74 crore released from the state disaster relief fund.

Claiming that the crop of delta farmers has been damaged to an incalculable extent, the DMK president alleged that though the state governments claim to have sought Rs 3,758 crore from the Centre after the Central team completed it four-day review of the flood damage in the state, proper relief has not reached the poor people and farmers even 15 days since the disaster. Accusing the CM of paying attention only for his political promotion using government machinery in the pretext of laying the foundation for schemes which would not materialize, the DMK president asked if farmers would consider relief as paid if he just extracts and smells inundated crops from the field.

Expressing shock at reports suggesting that the government intends to pay a paltry Rs 15,000 per acre as it did in the past, Stalin referred to the State only getting Rs 6,187 of the Rs 1.14 lakh crore sought from the Centre as disaster relief in the ten-year AIADMK regime and said the leaders of the ruling AIADMK have used their rapport with ally BJP led Centre to only save themselves from cases and not to get due to compensation for affected farmers.

He also added that it was worrisome that the AIADMK regime has only Rs 3,758 crore from the Centre by undervaluing the loss suffered by the recent cyclones.