Tuesday, Aug 06, 2002
Tuesday, Aug 06, 2002 |
| Southern States | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu
By K.V. Prasad
The effluent irrigation project, introduced in the face of a stiff resistance from certain sections of farmers, but was accepted, as it proved crop-friendly, was derailed when the funds-starved SIV closed down its operations last year. To resume operations after a closure over pollution-related problems, the company was forced to discharge treated effluents by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. It had acquired nearly 800 acres for the purpose. A number of farmers, who were unwilling to part with their lands, agreed to have them irrigated. By their own admission, it was mutually beneficial. The president of the Treated Water Irrigated Area Farmers' Association, P.S. Ramachandran, says a rocky area, where borewells found water only at 425 ft turned into a green belt with the treated water. Over 90 farmers, who grew a variety of crops, made an income that eluded them for years. ``We had made only of Rs.3,000 to Rs.4,000 profit, even in the best of times. As these areas are rainfed, in the event of a monsoon failure, there were severe losses.'' Many had migrated to Thalavadi (Erode) and other areas of Coimbatore owing to the hostile land and weather conditions in Sirumugai. The project had triggered a drastic rise in the cost of land, up to Rs.1.5 lakhs an acre. Those who had migrated returned to sell their land. Post-1999, the yield and the profit margin improved. He says the banana and sugarcane crop brought a profit of Rs.75,000 an acre. "The groundwater level also improved with this type of irrigation and the borewells had more water''. A year after the discharge was halted, the scenario is pathetic, says Ramachandran. "I have banana crop on five acres, irrigated with bore water. But I am not confident of a yield this time. With no treated water and rain as well, there is no hope of a yield at all''. He admits that many farmers, buoyed by the SIV project, had obtained loans to step up farming. "Besides co-operative bank loans, they have borrowed from private sources. Now, they are unable to pay the principal as well as the interest. Nearly 45 of them are severely affected''. The SIV itself suffered losses on this count. It had invested nearly Rs. 80 crores. The general manager of the Agroforestry and Biotechnology Division, Debasish Ghosh, says that Rs. 52 crores was spent on establishing infrastructure for treatment and land discharge, Rs.10 crores went into laying the pipelines for 800 acres and the rest was spent on land development. The company had cultivated sugarcane on its lands and reaped a yield of 50 tonnes an acre — ten tonnes more than the State's average yield.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
