Krishi Bhavans asked to furnish details by July 30
Green and endless paddy fields may fast be turning into an endangered sight in Kerala, but now the State Agriculture Department has taken a small step forward to protect what's left of them. The Agriculture Department has directed Krishi Bhavans across the state to furnish details concerning paddy fields in their respective areas by July 30. Faced with indiscriminate land filling, the department has also directed Agriculture Officers not to recommend filling or diversion of paddy fields for other uses; the Agriculture Minister's office told "Express".
This is to curb the practice of recommending filling on the lame-and sometimes false-excuse that the land had been lying fallow for years, it is learnt. The directive comes in the wake of the LDF Government's move to bring in legislation to protect paddy fields. A recent report on Alappuzha district, with special emphasis on the Kuttanad paddy region, submitted by the M.S.Swaminathan Commission too had appointed to the extensive encroachments on paddy fields there. Statistics released by the Economic and Statistics Department show that the land used for paddy cultivation has witnessed a steady downward spiral over the years. Rice production too showed a decline from 751000 metric tonnes during 2000-01 to 630000metric tonnes in 2005-06, but the productivity per hectare has gone up.
No comments:
Post a Comment