Accusing the Central government of not following a Karnataka High Court order on implementation of the Gorakh Singh Committee report on relief to arecanut growers, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Hasiru Sene said a contempt of court petition had been filed against the government.
Addressing presspersons on Friday, B. Shridhar Shetty, secretary of the sangha, said the report, submitted to the Union government in 2011, recommended waiving off of loans by areca farmers who own less than 10 acres of land, as well as issuing fresh loans to those whose yields have been affected by the yellow leaf disease. “The government had not implemented this. So we had to move the High Court. In September 2012, the Court ordered the implementation within three months,” he said.
However, even after six months, the report is in the backburner, he said. “We have filed a contempt of court petition with the court on March 26, 2013,” said Mr. Shetty. Sachin Meega, vice-president of the Kisan Khet Majdoor Congress and the complainant in the cases, said the waived off amount totals to Rs. 2,800 crore for more than two lakh families in coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions.
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