Palm trees destroyed in the name of kudimaramath scheme- Agri Min

"Palm trees have the capacity to retain ground water and to prevent soil erosion due to which except for palm trees all trees were destroyed in the tsunami but in the name of implementing kudimaramath scheme water bodies were desilted and palm trees were uprooted. However, Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced a scheme to protect palm trees due to which the value of palm trees will increase", said Panneerselvam, while delivering his reply in the budget session.

Speaker M Appavu, quoting the announcement of distribution of palm seeds by the state government to prevent palm trees, said that on his part he too will give 1 lakh palm seeds per year to the agriculture department and asked the Minister to distribute the seeds to farmers. Minister for water resources Duraimurugan quipped that the Speaker shows attention only when the issue of palm is discussed in the house.

Minister announces compensation for cassava farmers:

Panneerselvam said that 8,945 hectares of cassava plants planted in 10 districts were affected due to pest attack and the state government will provide Rs 2,000 per hectare for the damaged crops. For the purpose of providing compensation, the state has allotted Rs 1.79 crore. The issue of pest attack on cassava plants was raised by leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, in the assembly, in which he urged the state government to provide compensation for cassava plants damaged in pest attack.

No negative criticism on agri budget:

Earlier, the Minister said that the state government presented an independent budget on agriculture for the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu and even the opposition parties did not register any criticism on the agriculture budget. 21 MLAs spoke during the debate on the budget but none of them gave a negative criticism. There were only recommendations on the budget, added Panneerselvam.