UP, TN farmers get relief. Maha next?
LOAN WAIVER Madras HC asks state and Centre to clear all debts
In a significant order, the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to waive loans of all drought-hit farmers and restrained cooperative societies and banks from recovering their dues.
The court noted that the state's financial situation was grim and it was single-handedly shouldering the debt burden in a drought year in which farmers were committing suicide and suggested that the Centre come forward to extend financial help to Tamil Nadu “during this difficult situation”.
Farmers from Tamil Nadu have been demonstration in Delhi for two weeks to try and persuade the Centre and the state government to waive off their loans.
A division bench comprising Justices S Nagamuthu and M.V. Muralidaran gave the order of waiving the loans while allowing a petition by National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturists Association. “We are aware that the state's financial situation is grim. The chief secretary in her letter to the Advocate-General also reiterated the same. The government is already single-handedly shouldering the burden of Rs 5,780 crore and it will be an additional burden to bear Rs 1,980.33 crore,” the bench noted, adding, “In this difficult situation, the central government cannot be a silent spectator.”
It directed the cooperation, food and consumer protection department and registrar of cooperative societies to extend the crop loan waiver scheme under two Government Orders of 2016, to all farmers, including those whose land-holding was more than five acres.
The Association alleged that the government has shown discrimination in classifying farmers as small and medium and sought a direction to quash the GOs as illegal and to direct authorities to give relief to all farmers for loans taken from cooperative societies, irrespective of the extent of land owned.