The Andhra Pradesh government has informed the Hyderabad High Court about measures it has taken, including implementation of the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan Commission, to avert farmers suicides and for welfare of farming community in the State.
The AP government filed a counter-affidavit following a direction given by the Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt in a public interest litigation filed by ‘Vyavasaya Jana Chaitanya Samithi’ seeking the court directions to the Telangana and AP governments to take visionary steps to prevent farmers suicides and to invite applications from farmers who were in financial distress and to take remedial measures.
The AP government represented by Special Chief Secretary-Agriculture and Cooperation T. Vijay Kumar, in its counter, submitted that the recommendations made by the Swaminathan Commission, in 2006, were implemented. As per the recommendation regarding fixation of MSP, the State government submitted proposals to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), New Delhi for fixation of MSP at 50 per cent more than the cost of production for providing remunerative price to the farmers, as the issue was under the purview of Central government.
Further, the AP government claimed of implementation of programmes like “Polam Pilusthondi”, “Neeru-Chettu”, promotion of farm mechanisation, pro-active steps for implementation of national crop insurance programme, top priority to micro irrigation etc. in the interest of farming community. In order to rescue farmers from bankruptcy or indebtedness, the government has decided to redeem the crop loans outstanding from April 1, 2007 to Dec 31, 2013, it added.
The government said it has constituted a three-member committee comprising RDO, AD agriculture and DSP at the district level to analyse the reasons for the suicides and to submit proposals of compensation to the CM’s relief fund section for process. Besides, help line centres and advertisements in print and electronic media were intended by informing farmers that committing suicide is an offence and that in the event of crop failure, the best steps available at the disposal of the state would be reaching the farmers.
Failure of borewells, raising of commercial crops with high cost of cultivation, non-remunerative prices, oral tenancy - ineligibility to avail bank loan, private lending with high interest rates, season failure due to low and erratic rainfall, natural calamities and heavy expenditures incurred in children education, health and marriages are among the reasons found from various cases of farmers suicides, it explained and mentioning all the possible measures being taken by government, sought the PIL’s dismissal.
Permission given
for Moharrum
Justice P Naveen Rao of the Hyderabad High Court on Monday directed the Vijayawada city police to permit the Muslim community to conduct Moharrum” at ‘Run-Hussain-Panja’ on October 24 and 25.
He was dealing with a petition by one Sk. Suleman, a Vijayawada resident challenging the police, who cancelled the permission granted earlier, to conduct the festival between October 14 and 26 at the same venue.The petitioner said police had issued proceedings on September 18, according permission but on October 4, had issued fresh proceedings cancelling it because of the foundation-laying ceremony at Amaravati.
