Farmers urge state government not to challenge court order

Welcoming the High Court order, Arupathi P Kalyanam, General Secretary of the Federation of Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Associations said we had been demanding that there should not be any discrimination based on land holdings, even when the waiver was announced in 2016. 

“This judgment delivered on the petition by the Desiya Thennindiya Nadigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam state president Ayyakannu, would be a harbinger of the future victories for the farmers,” Arupathy Kalyanam added. 

He further pointed out, though the government initially announced that 16.94 lakh small and marginal farmers would be benefited by the waiver of loans to the extent of Rs 5,781 crore, only 12.20 lakh farmers were benefitted to the extent of Rs 5,280 crores. 

Sami Natarajan, Thanjavur district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association also welcomed the judgment and appealed to the state not to go in for any appeal against it. He urged the state to immediately implement the order. The Union government should also take cue from this order and waive the loans availed by the farmers from the commercial banks, he added. 

PS Masilamani, Tiruvarur district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, said the state usually follows the norms fixed by the National Disaster Response fund, which allows relief only to farmers holding up to five acres. The judgment has provided relief to all the farmers who have lost their crop in the state.