Farmers selling wetlands as they are not remunerative

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

The farmlands were once considered to be the livelihood of many in the
state. But not anymore now.



The failure of monsoons and lack of adequate remuneration is forcing
the farmers to sell their agriculture land at a better price and move
to the cities.



“I have 25 acres of land. But I am not making any profit from
agriculture. The government gives Rs 12,000 as loan for per acre of
land. How far is it remunerative. I would rather give the land to the
government and get rs 12,000 per month,” says K Kumchithapatham, a
member of Cauvery Delta Farmers association



“Agriculture doesn’t pay and the government is not keen to help the
farmers. So the farmer to make his end meet has to sell wetland for a
good price,” said the farmer from Tiruvarur



The farmer says that there not enough water for single crop in the
Cauvery delta.



Cheran, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagai Farmers Federation chairman
said that the major issue before farmers is that they are unable to
carry out agriculture as they don’t get enough farm hands.



“Since the conversion of the agriculture land into residential plots
along the state highways fetches them remunerative price, they sell
it,” he says.



While some farmers may be selling the land as it is not remunerative,
there are others who sell it as the water sources are getting
depleted. In Madurai, the granite mining being carried out even on
Ooranis has affected the agriculture.



Similarly, there are also instances where the land has been forcibly
taken from farmers to convert it into industrial estate.



Ramalingam, a farmer turned RTI activist, says that the then DMK
government lied stating that the agriculture land in Sivarakotai is a
barren one and gave consent for its acquisition. “Even the land
records were burnt,” he said. “Even now the land is fertile and crops
are sown. They have to withdraw the land acquistion order,” says the
farmer who has been unearthing the truth behind the lies by the then
government by filing RTIs.



President of United Farmers Association of Tamil Nadu C Vayapuri said
that wetlands once lost can’t be retrieved. “There is a need to
protect the wetlands and the government should bring in a clause to
stop sale of wetlands for the purpose of industries or real estate. It
should be put into use only for agriculture,” he said.



Interestingly, Madras Institute of Development Studies assistant
professor Vijayabaskar has suggested that the wetlands should be sold
only to farmers or put into use by farmers. However, Chordia says that
if such a clause comes into being it would affect the right of the
land holding individual. “If there are four brothers and the land is
being divided, one would want to sell it and make money. By stopping
him to sell the land would infringe on his right,” says Chordia