Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday said the entire State was drought affected and doled out sops to the farming community to face the worst drought it faced in the last 150 years. The drought has been induced by severe shortfall in North East monsoon rain.

At the last count, some 65 farmers had committed suicide due to crop failures out of deficient monsoon. Farmers associations are firm on this figure of farmers who committed suicide in the past two months alone.

The Government, on the other hand, has put the figure at only 17, to whom it would pay a solatium of Rs. 3 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased. Demanding that all the 65 families be compensated, farmers association leader B.R. Pandian said that even the crop loss assistance at a meagre Rs. 5,465 was woefully short of the Rs 25,000 per acre the farmers lost. “The Government is only cheating the farmers through its announcement on Tuesday,” he said.

The demand for adequate compensation has also been endorsed by all the opposition parties. DMK leader M.K. Stalin had even taken the issue up with Panneerselvam the day he took charge as his party’s working president the other day.

The Chief Minister on Tuesday declared all the districts in the State as drought hit and ordered rescheduling of farm loans, cancellation of land tax and compensation for lost crop to the drought affected farmers.

Panneerselvam said in a statement here that the Government was allocating more funds to tackle the immediate problems faced by the farmers. Employment would be given to rural population at an outlay of Rs 3400 crore. Employment under MNAREGA would also be increased by 50 days to 150 days, he said.

Panneerselvam said a sum of Rs 78 crore to provide fodder for cattle was also drawn up. A sum of Rs 160 crore for drinking water for cities and Rs 350 crore for drinking water supply in rural areas are on the anvil.

All the districts in the state will be declared drought hit, the Chief Minister said.