Past govt razed palm trees for kudimaramathu: Agri Min

“Palm trees have the capacity to retain ground water and prevent soil erosion due to which all other trees were destroyed in the tsunami. But, in the name of implementing kudimaramathu scheme water bodies were desilted and palm trees were uprooted. However, Chief Minister MK Stalin in an effort to increase the value of palm trees has announced a scheme to protect them,” said Panneerselvam, in his reply during the budget session.

Speaker M Appavu, referring to the announcement of distribution of palm seeds by the state government, said that on his part he too will give 1 lakh palm seeds per year to the agriculture department and asked the Minister to pass them on to farmers.

Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan quipped that the Speaker shows attention only when the issue of palm is discussed in the House.

Further, Panneerselvam said that 8,945 hectares of cassava plants in 10 districts were affected due to pest attack and the state would provide Rs 2,000 per hectare for the damaged crops and a sum of Rs 1.79 crore had been allocated for the purpose. The issue of pest attack on cassava plants was raised by Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, in the Assembly, in which he urged the state to provide compensation for crop lost in pest attack.

Earlier, the Minister said that the state government presented an exclusive budget for agriculture for the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu and even the Opposition parties did not criticise it. In total, 21 MLAs spoke during the debate on the budget, but none of them gave a negative opinion. There were only recommendations to add to or improve the budget, added Panneerselvam.