As the State government grapples with a host of issues in the high ranges of Central Travancore, another wave of rural anger appears to be brewing from the midlands here with the paddy farmers of Kuttanad threatening to intensify their stir over the inordinate delay in clearing paddy procurement dues.
As per official estimates, the authorities are yet to clear 62.23% of the ₹1,876 crore due to the paddy farmers during the 2022-23 season. Of this, the farmers from Alappuzha are yet to receive about ₹364 crore while the amount due to farmers in Kottayam, which comprise North Kuttanad and parts of Upper Kuttanad, is around ₹142 crores. The farmers of the Upper Kuttanad region of Pathanamthitta, meanwhile, are awaiting pending payment to the tune of ₹31.52 lakhs.
In percentage terms, the payment dues to the farmers in Pathanamthitta remains as high as 97. 84% while that for Alappuzha and Kottayam districts are 76.98% and 69.73% respectively.
The delay in receiving the payment, according to Sonichen Antony Pulikunnu, coordinator of the Paddy Farmers protection Council in Kuttanad, is having a severe impact on the lives of farmers as well as on the preparations for the next season of harvest. “There is no clarity as to how and when the payments are going to be settled. People are desperate to get their dues, especially as the schools are reopening,” he pointed out.
The growing frustration among farmers, meanwhile, is threatening to snowball into a major protest movement as the farmers, under the aegis of various farmer collectives, have begun organising themselves. The farmers, who have held several rounds of meetings and consultations with the Supplyco authorities, lined up, in the hundreds, as a show of strength during a token protest in Changanassery recently
Key demands
Among the key demands raised by its members included raising the handling charges to ₹250, inclusion of discount offered during procurement in Paddy Receipt Sheet and clearing the dues on pumping subsidy and production bonus.
In the absence of government action, the farmers have also decided to intensify the stir by launching indefinite protests in front of all agriculture, paddy marketing offices across the entire region.
The authorities, meanwhile, said efforts were being made to address the paucity of funds in collaboration with a consortium of banks. As part of it, the Supplyco has already entered into an agreement with the Canara Bank and started clearing a portion of the dues.
“Attempts are now being made to enter into similar agreements with the SBI and the Federal Bank as well. The distribution of the remaining amount is slated to begin from Monday onwards,’’ said a top Supplyco official.
