Prevent farmers’ suicides rather than give compensation, SC tells TN
Emptying the rice bowl: Agricultural labourers in many areas in Tiruchi district are now working in brick kilns after the failure of their crop.
Your job is to take steps to prevent farmers’ suicides and not to go around distributing compensation after they commit suicide, the Supreme Court told the Tamil Nadu government on Friday.
The court said the “actual job” of the government is to “directly address the ground reality of farmers suicides”.
“Your approach has to be preventive and not compensatory,” a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A.M. Khanwilkar addressed Additional Solicitor General P. Narasimha, for the State government.
“If there is coercive steps taken against farmers by banks for defaults in agricultural loans, there should be intervention from you,” Justice Misra addressed the State government.
When advocate R. Rajaraman, counsel for an association of Tamil Nadu farmers, said the reason behind farmers is the loss of dignity.
“Banks take coercive steps if farmers fail to pay their agricultural loans. This hurts their dignity and sense of pride. Most of them are small farmers, they opt to take their own lives,” Mr. Rajaraman said.
The court’s amicus curiae and advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan seconded the submission, saying “if the bank takes away a man’s tractor because his crops failed because of heavy rains, such a step is indeed coercion”.
“Is there any mechanism whereby a distressed small farmer subject to coercion can move the administration? Can he even do so?” Justice Khanwilkar asked the State.
“And if there is, farmers need to know about such a mechanism,” Justice Misra emphasised.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan said schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana - which the Tamil Nadu government said is a “game-changer” - is backed by good intent but farmers do not know about such schemes because of lack of last mile connectivity.
“So how will you get rid of middlemen? Suppose in Tamil Nadu, a crop is harvested, you (State) sell it for them and ensure they get the minimum support price. This can be done to stop any coercion from middlemen,” Justice Misra observed.
An earlier affidavit in the case, the State had blamed heart attacks, illness, and “in certain cases”, suicides for deaths of its farmers reeling under severe drought.
The court had chided the State for its silence and lack of concern as farmers die. The court recorded in an order that the plight of the farmers “has the potentiality to disturb the conscience of any sensitive soul”.
But the State maintained that it has “always been sensitive to the plight of farmers”. It said relief was paid from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund to the families of deceasedfarmers who were poor. So far, Rs. 2.46 crore has been disbursed to the families of 82 farmers who died. Each family has got Rs. 3 lakh.
Tamil Nadu had said it also sought central assistance to the tune of Rs. 39,565 crore through its drought memorandum submitted in January 2017. Of this, the State has received Rs. 1748.28 crore in drought relief.
The government said it has always “hand-held” its poor farmers through their times of distress.
“In the previous year of drought in 2012, the Government of Tamil Nadu had sanctioned relief to the extent of Rs. 1377 crore to help the drought-affected population. Likewise, consequent to the floods of 2015-16, the government disbursed a sum of Rs. 407.57 crore as relief to 7.62farmers in order to enable them to get out of their misery as 8.67 lakh acres of their crops were affected,” the affidavit filed for the State through advocate Yogesh Kanna submitted.
Loans to the tune of Rs. 1840.79 crore were given to 3,48,323 farmers to help them tide over the effects of demonetisation, the State said.
“Tamil Nadu has also issued crop loans to 7,62,772 farmers for an amount of Rs. 4227.98 crore through co-operative banks during 2016-17,” the State submitted in court.
It said Tamil Nadu has faced one of the most severe droughts in over 100 years, but the government has remained proactive and cared for its farmers through a multifarious approach.
“Tamil Nadu, one of the pioneer States in the country is always farmer centric and has brought revolutionary initiatives in agriculture,” the affidavit had said.
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