Replanting & Rejuvenation of Coconut Garden by the Coconut Development Board

What is the Replanting & Rejuvenation of Coconut Garden scheme?

Replanting & Rejuvenation of Coconut Garden, commonly written R&R, is a component of the Coconut Development Board's national programme, implemented in the Union Territory by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Puducherry. The scheme funds the three-step process of renewing an ageing coconut garden: cutting and removing old, diseased or unproductive palms, replanting with fresh seedlings, and then managing the young garden through integrated practices until it comes into bearing.

The economics behind it are simple and hard for an individual farmer to face alone. A coconut palm past its productive life still occupies the ground, still costs something to maintain and still yields a little. Cutting it down is an immediate cost and an immediate loss of that residual yield, and the replacement palm will not bear for several years. Left to themselves, most smallholders postpone the decision indefinitely, and average garden productivity across the territory falls. R&R pays the farmer to make the change now.

All three components are delivered by Direct Benefit Transfer to the farmer's bank account.

How much does the R&R scheme pay?

According to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the pattern of assistance is:

The cutting and removal ceiling of Rs 32,000 per hectare at Rs 1,000 per palm implies assistance for up to 32 palms per hectare, which reflects the normal planting density of a mature Puducherry coconut garden.

The Integrated Management Practices component being split into two annual instalments matters for planning. A young replanted garden needs sustained nutrient and water management over more than one season, and the second instalment follows verification that the practices have actually been continued.

The scheme's seasonality is annual: cutting and removal, replanting and integrated management practices are all offered each year against that year's allocation.

Who is eligible for the R&R scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a coconut farmer in the Union Territory of Puducherry. All categories of coconut farmers are eligible, with no caste, income or land-ceiling bar in the eligibility condition.
• You hold a Farmers Identity Card carrying the survey numbers and the extent of your holding, or authenticated land records or documents in its place.
• You are a tenant cultivating land owned by a religious institution, Wakf, Mutt, Trust or Municipality and you hold a letter of consent from that institution's authority together with a cultivation certificate.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not grow coconut. The scheme is crop-specific.
• You have neither a Farmers Identity Card nor an authenticated land document such as a sale deed, partition deed, gift deed or will. Without one of these the Department cannot establish the holding and the application is not eligible.
• You are a tenant without both the institution's consent letter and a cultivation certificate from the land owner or from the Agriculture or Revenue Department after joint verification.
• You are claiming Integrated Management Practices assistance on more than 4 hectares. Area beyond that ceiling is not eligible.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the R&R scheme

1. Visit your Uzhavar Udhaviyagam (Farmers' Help Centre) during office hours, or the Office of the Additional Director of Agriculture (Horticulture), and request a hard copy of the prescribed horticulture coconut application form from the Agricultural Officer. The form is also published on agri.py.gov.in.
2. Fill in every mandatory field, paste the passport-sized photograph and sign across it where required, and state clearly which components you are claiming, cutting and removal, replanting, integrated management practices, or a combination — together with the number of palms and the area involved.
3. Attach self-attested copies of the Farmers Identity Card or land document, and, if you are a tenant, the institution's consent letter and the cultivation certificate.
4. Submit the duly filled and signed form with the documents to the concerned authority at the same centre.
5. Note your unique number. On receipt, the office makes the entries in its application receipt register and assigns a unique number that identifies your file in all further references and serves as your acknowledgement.
6. Carry out the work after sanction and keep the garden available for the Agricultural Officer's field inspection, which precedes each release.

How are beneficiaries chosen and payments released?

The Department follows a published social-audit route for horticulture components. The provisional list of beneficiaries is displayed in the Horticultural wing of the Department and on the Department's portal for 10 days, during which objections may be filed. After the objection window closes, the list is finalised and the final list is displayed on the notice board of the Uzhavar Uthaviyagams.

Agricultural Officers (Horticulture) conduct periodic field inspections to verify progress, coordinating with the Agricultural Officers of the Uzhavar Uthaviyagams. For the Integrated Management Practices component the inspection is what unlocks the second annual instalment.

The eligible subsidy is then released to the beneficiary's bank account in DBT mode after expenditure sanction is obtained as per norms.

How do I check the status of my application?

Quote the unique number issued at the counter and follow up at the Uzhavar Udhaviyagam where you filed, or at the Office of the Additional Director of Agriculture (Horticulture). Watch the Uzhavar Uthaviyagam notice board and the Department's portal for the provisional list, and use the 10-day window to raise an objection if your name has been omitted in error.

If the file has been sanctioned but no credit has appeared, verify the bank account details recorded on the application before escalating.

Why applications get rejected or payments stall

• No Farmers Identity Card and no land document. One of the two is essential.
• Survey numbers or extent of holding missing from the identity card copy attached.
• Tenant application without both the consent letter and the cultivation certificate.
• Claim exceeding the ceilings; more than Rs 32,000 per hectare for cutting and removal, more than Rs 4,000 for replanting, or more than 4 hectares under Integrated Management Practices.
• Palms cut before sanction and inspection, leaving nothing for the Agricultural Officer to verify. Wait for sanction before felling.
• Integrated management not continued into the second year, which stops the second instalment.
• Bank account inactive or wrongly recorded, which blocks the DBT credit after sanction.

The Department's guidelines do not provide compensation for delayed disbursal, so accurate paperwork and cooperation with the field inspection are the practical levers available to the farmer.

Where to raise a grievance

Contact the Director of Agriculture, Puducherry on 0413-2336977 or by email at diragri[dot]py[at]gov[dot]in. The Additional Director of Agriculture (Horticulture) is the responsible officer for R&R. Karaikal applicants can contact the Additional Director of Agriculture, Karaikal, on 04368-230679.

Grievance redressal notes, the citizen's charter and the responsibility-centre list are published on agri.py.gov.in, along with the contacts for every Uzhavar Udhaviyagam. No fee is charged for the application form or for registration under this scheme.