Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan was on Thursday learnt to have cleared the recent resolution of the State Cabinet to revive the State Debt Relief Commission which ran into rough weather after it was constituted by a legislation of the Assembly three years ago.
The Telangana State Commission for Debt Relief (Small Farmers, Agricultural Labour and Rural Artisans) Act, 2016, was enacted with a chairman and five members to prevent debt ridden farmers from harassment by private lenders. The government contemplated through the legislation to bail out all farmers by waiving or rescheduling loans when farmers took them at high interest rates and fell prey to forcible recovery.
As the legislation failed to take off, BJP and Congress leaders N. Indrasena Reddy and Mr. M. Kodanda Reddy respectively moved the High Court which ordered its constitution headed by a retired High Court judge. The government only appointed two members to the panel but did not name the chairman.
As this invited contempt proceedings, the government issued an ordinance on June 24 facilitating appointment of a ‘noted person’ having experience in the field of agriculture, finance and law as the chairman. Accordingly, N. Venkateswarlu of Parkal in erstwhile Warangal district was appointed chairman.
However, the ordinance lapsed on December 23 after the six month deadline which threw the fate of the commission chairman into jeopardy due to dissolution of the Assembly and advanced elections.
In these circumstances, the Cabinet at its meeting last month decided to bring an ordinance reviving the commission.
