2.3 Efforts to Increase Intensity and Productivity of Paddy Crop As the scope for extending the net area under paddy crop through reclamation had been completely exhausted by the mid s, all the development programmes for paddy cultivation in Kuttanad region thereafter were either aimed to improve crop intensity or to enhance its productivity. It was rather impossible to raise a second crop in this region due to the flood submergence during the monsoon months and saline intrusion during the summer months. In order to tackle this problem the state government undertook three major construction projects viz, Thottappally spillway, R Block-Holland project and Thanneermukkom saltwater barrier during the period 1950 to 1975 as part of the Kuttanad Development Scheme.
