Why some farmers are ineligible for loan waiver, asks HC

MADURAI: Courts may not be able to intervene in the policy decision of a government, but they certainly can check the process by which the decision was arrived at, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court has said.
Accordingly, it directed the government to produce all relevant files that led to a policy decision that all farmers except small and marginal ones were ineligible for waiver of crop loan.National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturists Association president P Ayyakannu had filed a petition seeking direction to the state's cooperative secretary to extend the waiver of crop loan scheme to farmers in all categories irrespective of the land they held.
The court which had sought a report from the secretary on the matter took up the case for hearing on Thursday. On the occasion, the government submitted a counter of the joint registrar of co-operatives which said kuruvai cultivation had been coming down in recent years due to decrease in inflow of Cauvery water. Thus, to protect the farming community, the government had decided to waive loans obtained by small and marginal farmers as on March 31 last. In all, 19,96,071 farmers - 16, 94,145 small and marginal farmers and 3,01,926 farmers of the other category, had obtained Rs, 7,761.27 crore worth of loans - Rs, 5,780.94 crore by small and marginal farmers and Rs, 1980.33 crore by farmers of the other category.
Maximum beneficiaries with a minimum fund is the underlying policy of the government. Thus, the government framed a policy considering budgetary allocation, revenue mobilisation and the position of the farmers to waive the loan of small and marginal farmers, the government said. It further said that it was the policy decision of the government in which the court could not intervene. However, the court said it had asked for a report from the co-operative secretary whereas a report from the joint registrar had been submitted, which was unacceptable.