Tamil Nadu   

Private wasteland to be made arable

Tuticorin: The District Watershed Development Agency (DWDA) will develop about 500 acres of private patta wasteland in the district into cultivable land during this financial year on a total outlay of Rs. two crore, as part of efforts to increase cropped area coverage.

S. Arumugam, Joint Director of Agriculture and Project Officer, DWDA, said that the area identified under the project, situated at Sattankulam, Srivaikundam, Ottapidaram and Kovilpatti taluks, would be made cultivable using cluster-based approach.

Ten clusters would be formed at Nedungulam, Velavanpudukulam, Chettikulam, Kombankulam, Karunkadal, Cheerakulam, Panchalankurichi, Podupatti and Achankulam villages, each covering contiguous blocks of 50 acres.

Mr. Arumugam said that farmers with less than five acres of land holdings would only be selected as beneficiaries under the project.

Financial support will be extended to small and marginal farmers owning the land to take up land development activities, establishment of irrigational facilities and planting of high income generating horticultural crops or biomass tree species.

Under land development component, wild growth of tree species such as Prosophis juliflora would be cleared and the land ploughed using tillers before planting crops.

To enhance irrigation potential, borewells would be sunk, along with submersible motor pumpsets. Free power would be given for operating the pumpsets.

The farmers would be asked to form ‘lift irrigation societies’ for using borewell water judiciously.

For creation of ponds, funds available with the Department of Agricultural Engineering would be dovetailed.

Once these works are completed, tree saplings of mango, guava, sapota, amla and lime would be given to the farmers.

Clusters will be developed with biomass plantations instead of horticulture crops wherever there were no irrigation facility.

The species identified for biomass plantations include pongamia, tamarind, ailanthus and neem, Mr Arumugam said.

Bio fertilizers, micro-nutrients, gypsum and manure would also be distributed for free to the farmers.

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