Nellai rivers interlinking to be over by March: Speaker

MADURAI: The much awaited Tamirabarani-Karumeniyar-Nambiyar river interlinking project works, which will hugely benefit the people of southern districts, especially farmers, will be over by March this year, Assembly Speaker M Appavu said in Tirunelveli on Wednesday, referring to a statement of Chief Minister MK Stalin.

After taking part in the ‘Pudhumai Penn Thittam,’ scheme’s second phase launch, Appavu told reporters that almost 90 per cent of the river interlinking project work has been completed so far. To a query on compensation for farmers, who suffered crop loss in heavy rains, in the Delta region, he said the ongoing government is for the welfare of farmers. Now, the state government has announced enhanced compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare against Rs 12,000 as compensation provided by the previous AIADMK government. Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to have provided free pumpsets to farmers for agriculture and further during the regime led by former CM M Karunanidhi, farm loans of Rs 7,000 crore were waived off in the interest of the farmers.

At present, the state government has also waived off crop loans and moreover providing interest free loans to progressive farmers. During last year, one lakh free electricity connections were given to farmers and this year, 50,000 such connections have been given, so far. Citing these, Appavu said the state government was for the benefit of the people especially the poor and the agrarian community.

On the ‘Pudhumai Penn Thittam,’ he said the government would take steps to expand the benefits of the scheme to students of government-aided schools also.