Tamil Nadu told to file affidavit on farmer suicides

Chennai: The Madras high court has directed the state government to file an affidavit within four weeks as to the steps, which have been taken by it, to protect the farmers (who have been allegedly committing suicide due to crop loss).

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M. Sundar gave the directive and posted on February 14, further hearing of a public interest litigation filed by the Tamil Nadu Centre for Public Interest Litigation represented by its managing trustee K.K. Ramesh, which sought a direction to the state government to set up an expert committee in each district level all over Tamil Nadu to arrest the farmer suicides.

The PIL also sought a direction to use latest modern technology to save standing crops if monsoon fails and to create awareness among the farmers about the latest technology in the agricultural development. It also sought to increase the usage of drip irrigation with full awareness among the farmers.

In his PIL, Ramesh submitted that due to the failure of northeast monsoon and southwest monsoon for the last 3 years the agriculture in Tamil Nadu have been affected and lakhs and lakhs of agriculture labourers lost their works and in some places, they have been migrating to other district in search of jobs. In some districts, since they were unable to repay the bank loan, committed suicide due to the shortfall of rains, he added.

As per the media reports, water shortage, crop failure and failure to repay loans are prime reasons for the farmer suicides.

He said reports claimed that there was a total of 13 farmers who have committed suicide over the last two months in the delta and surrounding districts of TN and out of which 7 were from Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts. If this situation continues and if agriculture was spoiled, the entire farmer population will come under a dangerous situation.

It was the bounden duty of the government to protect its farmers from committing suicide and must use and teach modern technology, as that of Israel. Then only farmers will be saved from poverty and suicide, he added.