CHENNAI: The state government has issued a Government Order sanctioning Rs 111.96 crore as relief from the State Disaster Response Fund for 84,848 farmers whose agricultural and horticultural crops over 1.39 lakh acres were damaged by heavy rainfall during the 2025-26 north-east monsoon and Cyclone Ditwah. The decision follows a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin on December 1, and crop damage surveys in affected districts.
The relief will be directly credited to bank accounts of farmers in Ariyalur, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Kanchipuram, Kanniyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Nilgiris, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipet, Salem, Sivaganga, Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tirupattur, Tiruvallur, Tiruvarur, Thoothukudi, Tiruppur, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchy, Vellore, Viluppuram and Virudhunagar.
An official release said surveys were conducted in the affected districts to assess crop damage exceeding 33%, and reports were obtained from the district collectors. Based on these, a G.O has been issued on January 15 as per the instructions of the CM, sanctioning Rs 111.96 crore from the SDRF as relief for agricultural and horticultural crops affected by Cyclone Ditwah and the NE monsoon.
Earlier, for crop damage caused by the NE monsoon rains during November and December 2024 and unseasonal rains in January 2025, agricultural and horticultural crops cultivated over 5.66 lakh acres were affected. The government had sanctioned Rs 289.63 crore as relief to 3.60 lakh farmers in December, and the amount was directly credited to their bank accounts.