Chennai: The state government’s assertion that farmers did not commit suicide due to drought led to shock among the farmers who opined that the Tamil Nadu government’s stand would deny them the possibility of drought relief from the centre.
The leaders of farmers associations said the affidavit by the state government in the Supreme Court that farmers had died of illness and old age did not reflect the ground reality in the state.
The farmers said hundreds of farmers had committed suicide since the crops had failed and they were unable to pay their debts.
Ayyakannu, leader of Association for National South Indian Rivers Linking said “Not a drop of water from the Cauvery had reached Tamil Nadu and farmers who depended on Cauvery for irrigation were unable to cultivate their land. The southwest monsoon as well as the northeast monsoon had failed and not a single crop had been harvested in the delta districts”.
He alleged that the state government had sought drought relief from the centre citing the deaths of farmers and the severe drought, but it had given a different version to the Supreme Court. The state government’s stand would prevent the farmers from getting drought relief. Farmers bodies pointed out that the state government had sought about Rs 39,000 crore for drought relief, but the centre had given only about Rs 2,200 crores which could not meet their demands for relief.
They recalled that the Supreme Court which was hearing the Tamil Nadu government’s demand for Cauvery water constituted a committee of experts to visit the delta districts and submit a report to it. When the committee visited Tamil Nadu on January 17, the state officials had concealed the suicides of farmers, the farmers representatives said.The state government’s stand did not help the cause of Tamil Nadu farmers to get Cavuery water or drought relief. The farmers in the state are demanding Rs 25,000 per acre as drought relief, but the state government had announced Rs 5,465 per acre as relief.
The farmers throughout the state are also seeking the waiver of crop loans by the nationalised banks to stop the suicides of farmers. The UPA government had waived Rs 7,000 crore of farm loans for Tamil Nadu farmers alone and the National Front government under former Prime Minister V.P. Singh had taken a similar step. The farmers also complained that they had not received the crop insurance from the state government till now.
