Don't allow sand quarries in river beds: PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, on Monday (July 20, 2026), said the Tamil Nadu government should ideally invest ₹1.5 lakh crore for agriculture and allied industries
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, on Monday (July 20, 2026), said the Tamil Nadu government should ideally invest ₹1.5 lakh crore for agriculture and allied industries in the State government's agriculture Budget and argued against establishment of river sand quarries. He further demanded that farmers who cultivate kuruvai crop should be given a subsidy of ₹5000/acre. Speaking after releasing the party's shadow agriculture Budget in Chennai, Dr. Anbumani said the State government should waive crop loans and a new crop insurance corporation should be established to provide permanent relief for damage caused by natural calamities.
"We have prepared an agriculture shadow Budget (with an estimate) of ₹93,000 crore for the agriculture sector for 2026–27. During the previous DMK government, only ₹15,230 crore was allocated. Twenty-five per cent of the total Budget should be allocated to agriculture and ₹13,000 crore should be allocated for input costs, ₹30,000 crore for crop insurance, and ₹25,000 crore for agricultural infrastructure," he said. Anbumani further said officials should not demand bribe from farmers at the procurement centres and the paddy brought to the centres should be procured on the same day.
"Every year, Tamil Nadu produces 12.5 million tonnes of paddy. Of this, the government procures only 4 million tonnes. The government has storage capacity for only 1.8 million tonnes of paddy. The government's paddy procurement should be increased to 7 million tonnes. The Chief Minister should convene an all-party meeting and take steps to protect the livelihood of farmers and safeguard the environment. The Chief Minister should also take the initiative to lead an all-party delegation to urge the Union government," he said. He criticised the previous DMK government for not allocating enough funds to operationalise the Cauvery-Gundaru link project and further said the State government should not establish new sand quarries.
"If it attempts to do so, we will launch a protest. If needed, the State government can import sand even from Malaysia and Thailand, but do not quarry sand from rivers. Construct check dams at all the river locations earmarked for sand quarries. When alternatives such as M-sand exist, why should sand be extracted from rivers," he asked.
The BriefWire