Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Debt relief commission denies report

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Agricultural Debt Relief Commission has refuted reports to the effect that it has been criticising and blaming the government.

In an official rejoinder here on Wednesday, the commission contended that neither had it criticised or blamed the government nor was there any need for it. The controversy was obviously being created by taking a sentence here or a sentence there out of context from the report submitted by it to the government. All the news reports about the issue attributed it to the report released by the commission. It was not correct at all.

The commission did not release any report. As per section 14 of the Kerala Agricultural Debt Relief commission Act and Rule 21, the commission should submit before June 30 every year a report about its work till March 31of the preceding year to the government. It was such a report on its performance during the financial year 2007-08 which it submitted to the government on June 30, 2008. The report was neither given to anybody else nor released by the commission. The news reports seemed to be based on a copy of the report obtained unauthorisedly from somewhere.

The commission’s report was to be placed before the Assembly. It was in that sense meant to be a report for the people. The report was absolutely factual and in the form prescribed by law. There was no criticism or blaming of the government in it.

There was some confusion over the name of the commission. It was mentioned in the first paragraph of the report for the sake of clarity. The government had informed the commission that it had set apart Rs.129.50 crore for implementing its recommendations during 2007-08. The commission therefore had to put it down in the report that no debt relief was given as per its recommendations during the year in question. It was a fact which should be compulsorily mentioned in a statutory report to be placed before the Assembly.

The commission pointed out that at the same time speedy talks were taking place with the Planning Board with the knowledge of the Finance Department for implementing the recommendations made by it for providing debt relief to the farmers.

It believed that the recommendations would be implemented without delay. The purveying of such reports would only delay the distribution of debt relief. They would also create unnecessary and baseless impressions about the commission.

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