Abandon the App-Based Method for Assessing Crop Damage Caused by Floods
Statement by Vaiko
Due to the heavy rains and Cyclone Fengal that lashed Tamil Nadu in November, paddy crops cultivated over 2,11,239 acres were submerged and severely damaged. Farmers demanded that the Tamil Nadu government provide appropriate compensation for the damaged crops.
Following this, the State government announced a compensation of ₹20,000 per hectare for affected farmers. For this purpose, agricultural officials are currently assessing crop damage using a mobile application called Crop Damage Assessment.
Under this system, officials must visit the affected fields, record the survey number and sub-division details, take photographs of the damaged crops, and upload them through the app using GPS support. These uploaded details must then be verified and approved by the Village Administrative Officer, Revenue Inspector, and Assistant Director of Agriculture before the crops are included in the damage list.
Due to several shortcomings in this procedure, farmers across the entire Cauvery delta region are deeply distressed.
Under this system, farmers who received land under the land ceiling law, those cultivating temple lands, those farming on lands where patta transfers have not been completed, those cultivating multiple sub-divisions under a single survey number, and tenant farmers may all be excluded from receiving compensation.
Farmers point out that this app-based assessment method is impractical in delta districts where cultivation spans lakhs of acres. Moreover, there are insufficient officials to carry out this assessment work. During the previous Kuruvai season, many farmers were excluded when crop damage was assessed through the app, and several of them have still not received compensation.
Therefore, this new procedure must be withdrawn. Crop damage assessment should instead be carried out using the existing method through Agricultural Extension Officers and Village Administrative Officers, ensuring that all affected farmers receive compensation.
Further, while the government provides loans of ₹90,000 per hectare for cultivation, the announced compensation of ₹20,000 per hectare for crop loss is grossly inadequate. Hence, the compensation amount should be increased in proportion to the loan amount, so as to wipe away the tears of the farming community.
Vaiko
General Secretary
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
‘Thayagam’
Chennai – 8
18.12.2025