Loan waiver is not a permanent measure for the farmer’s agony and will prove to be a drag in the long run. It is a retrograde step in the development of the entire agricultural sector.
Ways should be explored to make agriculture more profitable. Issues such as desilting waterbodies, linking rivers, raising the groundwater table through rainwater harvesting, and using scientific farming methods should all be explored to boost agriculture.
Sravana Ramachandran,
Chennai
The direction of the Madras High Court on farm waivers is shocking. It is surprising how the learned judges have ventured into the field of policy domain and fiscal matters. This is all about a democratic polity. Fiscal policy is an expert domain and I am sure that courts have neither the expertise nor the constitutional mandate or provision in such matters.
How about landless farm workers who may also be facing a distress situation? How about the High Court bench ordering 250 days of employment under MGNREGS instead of 150 days as decided by the government recently to mitigate the distress of landless farm workers in Tamil Nadu? How about weavers who have taken loans and are facing distress? At the most, the Bench could have forwarded the representation to the government or made the suggestion of constituting an expert committee to look into the distress and act quickly.
A. Narayanan,
Chennai
