Litigant approaches Madras High Court seeking fuel subsidy for farmers

S Ayya, a resident of Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli district has filed the PIL praying the HC to direct the State and Centre to provide subsidies on diesel, petrol & kerosene for farmers engaged in mechanized farming in Tamil Nadu by considering his representation dated 02.11.2021 as expeditiously as possible within the time stipulated.

“With the increased rate of farm mechanization, the demands for crude oil such as petrol, diesel and industrial kerosene have increased over the years from 2018 to 2021. Further, the steep rise in tax that includes central excise, cess and state’s VAT has added additional burden on the input cost of production in agriculture. Therefore, farmers engaged in mechanized farming in the state are put through several hardships owing to increased cost of production and procurement at a subsidized price,” the petitioner said in his affidavit.

He further pointed out that the states of Bihar and Karnataka have offered subsidized diesel for farming purposes to the farmers.

"Agriculture is considered as the backbone of our economy. However, the alarming rate of dropouts and threat to food security arising out of the increased cost of production and taxes levied on petrol, diesel and motorist spirit,” Ayya added.

In Tamil Nadu, a considerable number of farmers from several districts merely rely on diesel motor pump sets and they are already struggling to carry out cultivation due to the escalation of input costs, fertilizer, seed and particularly labour costs, according to the petitioner.

“The rise in fuel prices and the resultant production cost is a vicious cycle as it leads to inflation in essential commodity, therefore it is the sole responsibility of the centre and state to come up with an effective subsidy mechanism to curtail the impact of inflation on the general public,” he noted.