VELLORE: Vellore farmers demanded that the district be officially declared drought-prone and marked as severely affected by El Niño. Speaking at the farmers' grievance meeting, they expressed distress over crop failure caused by extreme heatwaves, lack of rain, and drought-like conditions. They also requested data collection on crop failure and insisted on drought relief funds along with full crop insurance coverage.
The Tamil Nadu government last issued comprehensive data on rainfall deficit in 2024. The Revenue and Disaster Management departments had prepared the data by calculating the deficit from the 2023 northeast monsoon. Among the 22 districts affected by hydrological drought, Vellore was then listed as one of the severely rainfall-deficit districts.
The state previously declared drought in Vellore in 2002, 2003, 2012, and 2016. Farmers have now requested a reassessment of this year's rainfall and a fresh declaration.
They have also sought a complete crop loan waiver, rather than a conditional waiver limited to those who availed loans between May 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026, through cooperative banks.
The farmers also insisted that the district administration collect extensive data on crop failure and damage. In response, the Vellore DRO said the District Collector has already ordered field-level data collection and that it is underway.
The farmers further requested full crop insurance coverage. During the meeting, some alleged that certain private commercial banks claim that "crop insurance can only be claimed if the entire village's crop is destroyed." In response, the District Revenue Officer (DRO) said he would look into the matter.
Santhanathan, head of the Vellore Farmers Association, said the drought relief fund should be released in Vellore this year, unlike in 2023 when Vellore was excluded and only southern districts received relief.
"According to information we received through our association, approximately 18,000 hectares of active farmland, including groundnut, banana, paddy, and guava, have failed in Vellore so far," he said, adding that even fodder crops are failing.
"To combat climate change and the impact of El Niño, we have advised farmers not to sow major paddy crops that are usually sown in August-September and harvested during the long monsoon season till November-December," he said.
