The heavy unseasonal rains in Cauvery Delta districts have inundated around 1 Lakh hectares of standing Samba crop on the verge of harvest. I...

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin sent an urgent communication to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting necessary relaxations in paddy procurement norms after unprecedented unseasonal downpours inundated approximately one lakh hectares of standing Samba and Thaladi crops across the Cauvery Delta region. Stalin explained that intense torrential rain struck right when mature paddy crops stood on the verge of harvesting, causing widespread waterlogging and threatening severe financial distress for farming households.

The Chief Minister pointed out that excessive moisture content in rain-affected grain exceeds standard central procurement thresholds enforced by the Food Corporation of India. Without immediate central exemptions allowing procurement of paddy with higher moisture levels up to twenty-two percent, farmers face catastrophic market rejection or distress sales to private middlemen. Stalin cited the prompt relief granted during the preceding Kuruvai season, urging the Union government to extend identical operational relaxations immediately.

Stalin emphasized that the state government had already dispatched ministerial teams and district collectors to drain inundated fields and evaluate localized crop loss. He reiterated that protecting delta cultivators during climate shocks requires decisive federal coordination, calling upon the Union ministry to dispatch inspection teams swiftly and ensure uninterrupted direct purchase centers operate across affected agrarian districts.