THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition raised the ‘distress’ faced by farmers in the assembly on Thursday and demanded pro-active interventions by the state government to alleviate their woes. The government on its part listed out various initiatives it has undertaken for farmers’ welfare and said its ‘unprecedented interventions’ has vastly improved the conditions of the state’s agriculture sector.
T Siddique of the Congress, who sought permission to discuss the matter through an adjournment motion, listed the number of farmers’ suicides to highlight the distress in the sector. He said 29 farmers had committed suicide during the last six years of LDF rule, of which 11 were from Wayanad. Quoting national survey findings, Siddque said the state was ranked second in terms of the number of agricultural families in debt. While the average debt per agricultural family was Rs 74,121 at the national level, it was Rs 2.42 lakh in Kerala, he pointed out. He also said the state Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission has not received any new applications from affected farmers for the last two years.
Agriculture Minster P Prasad refuted Siddique’s charge that the functioning of the debt relief commission has been stalled and said it had disbursed assistance to the tune of Rs 265.66 crore. The government has also given adequate financial aid to farmers during instances of crop loss. “The government is making necessary interventions to ensure that not a single farmer commits suicide,” the minister added.
PESTICIDE FIRMS, CENTRE IGNORED DIRECTIVES TO COMPENSATE VICTIMS: MIN
T’Puram: Social Justice Minister R Bindu informed the Assembly on Thursday that neither pesticide manufacturers nor the Union Government has provided any compensation for endosulfan victims. The human rights commission and Supreme Court had earlier issued directives to provide compensation to endosulfan victims. “Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking compensation and pension for endosulfan victims. This request was declined by the Centre in August 2018,” the minister said.