One lakh farmers were given free electricity within a year of the DMK government coming to power. Minister for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare M.R.K. Panneerselvam has said that the government has set a target of providing free electricity to 50,000 farmers next year.
Coimbatore: Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister M. R. K. Panneerselvam and V. Senthil Balaji Minister for Electricity inaugurated the Agri Intex 2022-International Agriculture Exhibition at Codissia Trade fair Complex.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Senthil Balaji said that the entrepreneurs of Coimbatore are playing a significant role in the development of the district. It was Chief Minister Stalin who gave a separate budget for agriculture.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has been implementing free electricity for farmers.
In a single year, 1 lakh farmers have been benefitted. 2 lakh farmers will be benefitted. The chief minister was to inaugurate it. He said he had sent the Agriculture Minister as he could not come due to corona.
Speaking later, Minister M R K Panneerselvam said that agriculture is respected under the DMK rule. It was Stalin who presented a separate budget for agriculture. It is the farmers who worked tirelessly like the doctors in corona. Agriculture has to be modernized.
The situation has changed for those wearing pants to do farming. The Minister of Electricity has set a record by providing free electricity to one lakh farmers in six months. The Tamil Nadu agriculture department is providing about several thousand crores for free electricity.
The Chief Minister has directed the Revenue and electricity Ministers to personally visit the Nilgiris to take stock of the situation.
Speaking to reporters, M R K Panneerselvam said, "I am happy to be a farmer in inaugurating this exhibition. An exhibition like this will help people like us, who are farmers, to get acquainted with the latest technology and innovations. Industrialists are participating in the event today wearing dhotis.
Therefore, agriculture is respected and the Chief Minister has announced a separate budget for the agriculture sector and the farmers have got a feeling that they are respected by this government.
In order to polish it, new tools have been introduced and the exhibition has been set up to make the farmers aware of the latest technologies etc.
Compensation is given by the government for medical assistance to those who die of snake bites, motor movement at night, etc. The machines for running the motors from home have been introduced and given to 10,000 farmers on a trial basis.
For the farmers, everything is always a struggle and we have started research work through the Department of Human Resources and the Agricultural University to control paddy smoke, beetle bites and whiteflies for coconut farmers. We are advising to spray medicines as soon as the pest attack starts and now Rs 15 crore has been allocated.
The idea of bringing in organic farming has come to the people and 1 lakh farmers have come to bring it. For organic farming, the crop will grow continuously for 3 years without the impact of the drug. Organic fertilizers are supplied with subsidy and the respective District Collectors have taken up the task of conducting it at the district level like Coimbatore.
"I have announced in the Assembly that 50,000 electricity connections will be given this year, but the CM announced that 1 lakh will be connected in six months, but they said no, it was the chief minister who completed it," he said.
Coimbatore District Collector G.S. Sameeran, Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Prathap, Coimbatore Mayor Kalpana Anand Kumar, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Geetha Lakshmi, Codissia executives and others were present on the occasion.
