Notice to govt over relief for Gaja-hit coconut trees

A petition filed by Govindarajan of Thanjavur came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices KK Sasitharan and PD Audikesavalu. According to the petitioner, the cyclone, which crossed on November 16 devastated Thanjavur and several neighbouring districts. The petitioner also claimed that several thousands of residents in these districts were rendered homeless and crops and trees on lakhs of hectares of agricultural lands were destroyed. Coconut trees suffered the worst damage. Majority of the farmers in Thanjavur and nearby districts relied on coconut trees for livelihood. The loss of coconut trees was a massive blow to a number of farmers as they had no other source of income. On an average in a year, a coconut farmer would earn an income of around Rs 3 lakh per hectare, the petitioner said, adding, “but, the state government announced a meagre amount of Rs 1,500 as compensation for each damaged coconut tree. Such a meagre compensation will not be enough for aggrieved farmers.”

Citing these difficulties, the petitioner sought compensation of Rs 50,000 for every damaged coconut tree. Further in a measure to mitigate the problems of the growers, the petitioner appealed to the bench to order provision of hybrid variety of coconut saplings at subsidised cost. After hearing the petition, the bench issued notices to Secretaries of Revenue and Agriculture and adjourned the case to February 18.