COIMBATORE: Farmers have urged the agri-engineering department to revise the norms of a subsidy scheme aimed at renovating abandoned agricultural wells. They claimed that the current subsidy only covers the construction of retaining walls around the wells, not the work of removing soil and mud.
The farmers stated that the state government has launched a pilot project to provide a subsidy for renovating abandoned wells on agricultural land. The scheme, implemented through the agri-engineering department, selects one or two wells in a district and offers a maximum subsidy of Rs 2.5 lakh per farmer for the renovation.
K Balakrishnan, secretary of the youth wing in Kaushika Neer Karangal, said, "Due to the depletion of groundwater, most wells on agricultural land were left without water. As a result, farmers abandoned them without maintenance. The government has since implemented a groundwater recharge project, and the water level in some parts of the district is now increasing. The government is currently providing a subsidy under a pilot project to renovate abandoned wells in some districts."
"A dilapidated well can only be fully utilised for agriculture if the mud and soil are removed and a wall is built around it. The government should revise the scheme's norms to include a subsidy for desilting work," he added.
An official from the agri-engineering department said, "It is a pilot project rolled out to improve the groundwater level. The farmers' concerns will be brought to the attention of the government."