Declaring Cuddalore and Villupuram as cyclone-affected districts, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Saturday unveiled a comprehensive package to bail out farmers who cultivate paddy, coconut, jackfruit and cashew and who were affected by the Thane.
She said a project management unit, headed by an officer in the rank of deputy collector, would be set up in Cuddalore to oversee the implementation of the package.
The chief minister announced in the Assembly that by declaring the districts as cyclone-hit, land-tax would be waived for the farmers.
She also said as part of the Rs 440.11 crore pending as dues in cooperative banks, the short-term loans would be converted into medium-term loans and medium-term loans, as long-term loans, benefiting over 1.10 lakh farmers.
Under the comprehensive special package for farmers, Ms Jayalalithaa announced mini-kits, free assistance to remove damaged trees and crops, free seeds and saplings and government assistance in irrigation.
She said these measures would help the affected farmers reclaim their livelihood. The project management unit, which will oversee the package works, will have officials from Tamil Nadu agriculture university and local administration department.
Elaborating on the cyclone relief works undertaken by the state, the chief minister said the government put things back on track in a month while it would generally take six months to restore normalcy. She said the cyclone relief works were undertaken at the speed of a cyclone.
Lauding the TNEB chairman and employees for their tireless efforts to restore power lines that were cut and poles and power equipment flattened in Cuddalore and Villupuram districts, the chief minister said thousands of employees were involved in the process.
“What would have been done in three months, was achieved in 15 days. What would have been done in six months, was achieved in a month,” Ms Jayalalithaa said.
Though Thane was more severe than the two cyclones that hit the state during the DMK regime in 2000 and 2008, the chief minister said her government acted faster than the DMK government in restoring normalcy.
“We have created a record,” Ms Jayalalithaa stated emphatically, as members from the AIADMK, Left and Congress thumped the desks in appreciation.
