In a first, Kerala to provide royalty to paddy field owners

Kerala government has launched a prestigious programme to provide royalty to paddy field owners who have been cultivating paddy for three years. The royalty is fixed at Rs 2,000 per hectare for paddy fields which are under cultivation.

Thrissur: Kerala has become the first state in India to provide royalty to the paddy field owners. The state government announced royalty to owners of paddy fields while launching its prestigious programme. The royalty is fixed at Rs 2,000 per hectare for paddy fields which are under cultivation.

The agricultural department said that it is for the first time that paddy field owners are being given royalty. The purpose of providing royalty is to preserve, maintain and promote the paddy cultivation in the state and also to prevent altering the fields for other purposes.

The royalty programme comes days after the state government launched a scheme to fix the base prices of the farmers' produce.

An annual royalty of Rs 2000 would be provided per hectare of paddy to the paddy field owners. The statewide official launch of the scheme was virtually done by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in presence of other dignitaries. The state government has earmarked Rs 40 crore for the scheme for this year.

Under the Kerala Government’s prestigious programme, the royalty would be allowed for the paddy field owners who preserve the paddy fields, prepare the fields for paddy cultivation and maintain the paddy fields as such without transforming the land for any other use.

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The owners of the land where paddy is presently being cultivated are also eligible to benefit from the scheme. Besides, the paddy fields in which short term crops like pulses, vegetables, sesame, groundnut and such crops are cultivated, without altering the basic structure of the paddy field, are also eligible for the State’s royalty.

The landowners who have left their paddy fields barren can make use of their land for paddy cultivation through agents or themselves to be eligible for the royalty. If an agricultural land has been left barren continuously for 3 years, the owners will not be eligible for the royalty. Thereafter, when the cultivation is revived, the owner can apply again for the royalty.

The application to avail the state government's paddy royalty scheme has to be submitted online on the portal www.aims.kerala.gov.in. The farmers can log in as individuals using their personal login id or through Akshaya centre to submit the application.

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