During the time when almost all segment of society is badly impacted by COVID-19, farmers have brought some cheer in Tami Nadu. Recently, Tamil Nadu has topped the all-India level for micro-irrigation (MI), under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), with coverage of 2,06,853.25 ha for the FY 2019-20.
A perusal of data on the PMKSY website shows that during the inaugural year of the programme (2015-16), Tamil Nadu had just around 32,290 hectares under micro-irrigation, lagging behind various states like Telengana (39,864 ha), Rajasthan (56,345 ha), Karnataka (64,220 ha), Andhra Pradesh (94,104 ha) and Gujarat (about 1.43 lakh ha).
But now, it has come in the first position in micro-irrigation coverage & followed by Karnataka and Gujarat with 1,41,103.56 Ha and 1,08,322.00 Ha of coverage respectively. Interestingly, at the all-India level, 43.71 lakh ha of land were brought under micro-irrigation in the last 5 years.
How micro-irrigation cover increase in Tamil Nadu?
During the inaugural year of the MA programme (2015-16), Tamil Nadu had just 32,290 hectares under micro-irrigation. Then, that the State government had started giving additional subsidy to what was already provided by the Centre to small & marginal and big farmers by developing a website, “Micro Irrigation Management Information System” (MIMIS). Through this, the implementation from registration of beneficiaries to the final round of release of funds has been made online. It simplified the procedure and speeded up the approval process.
Like, for sugarcane, small & marginal farmers got 100% subsidy for laying drip system and big farmers got 75%. Adding more to it, the government has also removed 12% goods and services tax (GST) on MI components. The state of Tamil Nadu has provided the choice to farmers for the purchase of MI components by identifying 45 firms.
For implementing the programme, the Department of Agricultural Engineering & Sugar Directorate has worked closely with the Department of Agriculture.
What is Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)?
PMKSY has started in the year 2015, with an outlay of Rs.50,000 crore in five years. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana aimed to improve on-farm water use efficiency through a number of measures such as Micro Irrigation. This programme promotes the “more crop per drop” concept by focussing on water-saving technologies with an objective of “Har Khet ko Pani”.
