THOOTHUKUDI: Demanding withdrawal of the cess tax levied against a dozen of agriculture products, over 300 farmers led by Tamil Vivasayigal Sangam president OA Narayanasamy staged a protest at Inam Maniachi village near Kovilpatti on Tuesday.
"The State government has been levying Rs 30 as cess tax per quintal of farm produces, including paddy, cotton, chilly, maize, ginger, turmeric and coconut, since June 2021. However, on the pretext of deducting cess tax, the traders are collecting an exorbitant Rs 100 per quintal from farmers, which is causing a huge loss for the farmers," Narayanasamy said.
He urged the government to revoke the tax as it benefitted the farmers in no way. "We had submitted a petition to agriculture minister MRK Panneerselvam thrice regarding this, but no action has been taken.
Further, chilly, maize, black gram, green gram and cotton crops cultivated during the rabi season had got damaged before even germinating due to sparse rainfall during this monsoon season. So, the government should compensate the farmers under the insurance relief scheme," he added.