On the surface, it may be an Assembly election sans issues in the Cauvery delta region. Declaration of the delta region as a Protected Special Agriculture Zone (PSAZ) and the waiving of cooperative farm loans to the tune of ₹12,000 crore seem to have resolved long-pending issues of the farmers. But the simmering discontent over a “lack of progress” and the favouring of one section could play a role in the election.

“Even though the State government has created the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Authority, not a single meeting has been held so far, though it should meet at least twice a year,” said V. Sethuraman, a farmer from Mannargudi.

According to him, the single licensing method will come in handy for oil companies, including the ONGC, to drill through unconventional methods to extract shale, tight gas and coal bed methane. “I am reiterating this because there is no ban on existing projects and companies might opt for unconventional methods,” he said.

His argument was supported by G. Varadharajan, State convener of “Save Our Rice”, who said the government had not formed State and district-level committees to effectively implement the vision behind the protected agricultural zone.

“So far, there has been no effort to launch agri-based industries that will add value to farm products. What we need is an exclusive agriculture university [other than TNAU], that will do research on the subject,” he said.

While off-shoots of protected agricultural zones are a matter of debate among those who know the issue inside out, what actually dominates at the grassroot level is the “favouring of a particular section” in waiving loans.

“The waiving of loans has benefited mostly ruling partymen and only 25% of those who actually deserved it,” said Sami Natarajan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association. He said medium-term loans had not been cancelled.

R. Palanivel of the Cauvery Vivasayigal Sangam also agreed that waiving of loans would not help much since farmers still had to pay medium-term loans.

Big relief

But there were others who said the loan waiver and the release of ₹2,500 as a Pongal gift had offered much-needed succor to people in the rural areas. Assistance given for Cyclones Nivar and Burevi had also come as relief to the farmers.

“The ₹2,500 gift is a big amount for a farmer’s family. Waiving of loans also helped many people. The ‘Kudimaramathu’ project restored a lot of waterbodies in the district. But farmers still feel that the rate for paddy should be ₹2,500 a quintal,” he said. Anyone who visits villages in the delta will see the effect of ‘Kudimaramathu’ works — waterbodies brimming with water especially after heavy rain.

Vanchi Koothalingam, a farmer from Pallathu near Pattukottai, said in his village alone, ₹2.94 crore worth loans had been waived for farmers.

G. Balasubramanian, Tiruvarur district panchayat chairman, said loans were not waived when people were desperate and reeling under hardship during the pandemic.

“The government made the announcement only after the DMK made a demand for it. Irregularities in ‘Kudimaramathu’ works and the MGNREGA will be in the minds of the people on election day,” said Mr. Balasubramanian, who is also a DMK functionary.