Restructure crop loans: Jaijee

CHANDIGARH, Sept 7: Inderjit Singh Jaijee, chairman of the Movement against State Repression, who was the first to point out debt related...

CHANDIGARH, Sept 7: Inderjit Singh Jaijee, chairman of the Movement against State Repression, who was the first to point out debt related suicides by the farmers in Punjab, today stressed the need for restructuring crop loans with a three-year moratorium on repayment and waiving interest in case of the farmers whose holdings are less than five acres.

In a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Jaijee said the state government should levy insurance charge per quintal on food grains procured for the Central pool. This fund should be used for compensating the farmers for the crop damage. The farmers should be given bonus on food grains.

He said until such times as comprehensive crop insurance is implemented, agricultural financial institutions should waive crop loans on a percentage basis reflecting the percentage of crop loss. The state government should bear this cost. Moreover, the interest on crop loan should not be more than five per cent.

The financial institutions should be directed to take care of the village credit needs to prevent exploitation by the commission agents.The distress sale of agriculture land should be made illegal. The land transactions should be scrutinised in consultation with the panchayat.

Yet another proposal relates to the operation of market forces to determine price of the farm produce in place of regulated prices.

Jaijee has also referred to the opening of the North-West trade passage through Pakistan and Iran for exporting food grain.

Yet another factor which has made farming uneconomical is fragmentation of holdings and Jaijee is for removing the land ceiling.

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The next of kin of the farmer committing suicide should be given compensation amounting to Rs. One lakh or equal to the debt amount plus Rs 50,000 for rehabilitation. The children should get free schooling and vocational education.

He said the health department should depute specialists to visit the suicide prone areas to attend to the mental health of the people min the countryside. The number of liquor vends in the rural areas should be reduced and flow of narcotics checked by the police.

Moreover, priority should be given to the industrial development to ease pressure on land. The quota system in the armed forces should be dropped.

He said the affected areas should be identified and closely monitored.