Thiruvananthapuram: Amid allegations by the Opposition and the Church for its alleged disregard for the plight of over 1 lakh rubber growers, the Kerala government on Monday announced the approval of Rs 42.57 crore as subsidy for rubber farmers.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal, in a statement, said the subsidy would benefit 1,45,564 rubber cultivators in the state. "With this allocation, the government has disbursed a total of Rs 124.88 crore as subsidy to rubber cultivators for this financial year, including the earlier distribution of Rs 82.31 crore," he said in the statement.

The Church, which has a major influence on farmers and most of the rubber plantations, has been targeting the state government for not doing enough to support the farmers. Back in March, Thalassery Arch Bishop Mar Joseph Pamplany said that if the Centre raises the procurement price of rubber to Rs 300 per kg, the Church will help the BJP get an MP from Kerala.

He also alleged the Left Democratic Front, which had promised to raise the floor price of natural rubber to Rs 250 upon coming to power, has done nothing to address the issue.
On its part, the Opposition Congress alleged that the LDF government had betrayed rubber cultivators by not increasing the minimum support price as promised.

Incentive programme
Balagopal said the Rubber Incentive Programme was initiated in light of the existing market conditions for natural rubber. In 2021, the previous LDF government increased the subsidy to Rs 170 per kilogram when rubber prices saw a decline, in order to counterbalance the reduced market value. Balagopal said an amount of Rs 600 crore has been set aside in this year's budget for this fund.
(With PTI inputs)