A high-level meeting was convened at the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture in Chepauk, Chennai, to assess the state of drought preparedness in Tamil Nadu and the progress in implementing various Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
The meeting was co-chaired by Ashish Kumar Srivatsava, IFS, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, and C. Samayamoorthy, Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Agriculture Farmers' Welfare Department.
During the meeting, the Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary expressed gratitude to the Joint Secretary for his involvement in reviewing the state's drought preparedness and the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes. He acknowledged the significance of sharing issues and taking prompt remedial measures with the support of the Government of India. Dr. L. Subramanian, Commissioner of Agriculture, delivered a detailed presentation on various aspects, including rainfall distribution, water storage in reservoirs, crop coverage, steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to mitigate drought, and the progress of the Contingency Plan.
It was revealed that ten districts in Tamil Nadu are experiencing deficient rainfall during the Southwest monsoon. The Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary expressed concern over the adverse effects of unseasonal rainfall in recent years on crop yields. He also highlighted the government's focus on installing micro-irrigation systems in overexploited and critical areas to improve groundwater levels. As part of the Green Tamil Nadu Mission, agroforestry is being promoted, with free distribution of forest tree seedlings.
The Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary informed the attendees that two preliminary meetings had already taken place to draft a comprehensive drought mitigation plan. As a result, 23 sensitive districts with 116 blocks vulnerable to drought have been identified.
The plan includes strategies such as cultivating less water-intensive crops, ensuring the availability of seeds and fertilizers, integrating rainfall data from standard rain gauges and Automatic Weather Stations, promoting drought management cultivation practices like community nurseries and direct seeding, constructing water-harvesting structures, establishing cattle shelters, and ensuring the availability of green fodder and dry fodder. Drought monitoring cells have been established at the state and district levels to closely monitor the situation.
Raman, Director of the Tamil Nadu Disaster Risk Reduction Agency, mentioned that while it is too early to predict a drought, the state is closely monitoring indicators as per the Manual for Drought Management. The Joint Secretary of the Government of India emphasized the importance of knowing the preparedness of states for drought situations and ensuring coordination among various agencies.
He instructed the officials to establish a monitoring mechanism at both state and district levels, particularly in the sensitive districts. Despite the Indian Meteorological Department's prediction of normal rainfall for the Southwest monsoon this year, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare has taken the initiative to assess the preparedness of states through senior officials.
The Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary of the Government of Tamil Nadu confirmed that the state government had taken prompt steps to complete physical activities and utilize the funds in accordance with the prescribed norms.
The Joint Secretary commended Tamil Nadu for being the first state in the country to prepare a consolidated Annual Action Plan well in advance and secure funds for the year 2023-24. He also lauded the launch of the new portal, Tamil Mann Valam, designed for the welfare of the farming community, stating that it could serve as a model for the entire country. He urged the state officials to remain vigilant in tackling the drought situation, should it arise, and to expedite the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
Several key officials, including the Agriculture Production Commissioner and Secretary to Government C. Samayamoorthy, Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. L. Subramanian, Director of Agricultural Marketing and Agri-Business Dr. Natarajan, Executive Director of the Tamil Nadu Watershed Development Agency Anbazhagan, Director of Horticulture and Plantation Crops Dr. Brindha Devi, Additional Director (Personnel Management) Shreya Singh, Chief Engineers of the Agricultural Engineering Department, and other state and district officials, actively participated in the discussion on drought preparedness and the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
