KOCHI: The concern of the High Court whether the payment of dues for paddy procurement through banks would be problematic for the farmers, has come true. Alappuzha Thakazhi resident KG Prasad, who committed suicide yesterday, is a martyr of paddy procurement. A month and a half ago, the High Court had ordered that the payment for paddy should not trouble the farmers in the form of bank loans and Supplyco should ensure that those who have difficulty approaching banks are getting the money. This was not followed.

Supplyco did not have enough money to give to the farmers which led to the idea of ​​bank loans. It was also said that the money will be given by the bank but the government will be responsible for it. The government and Supplyco gave assurances about this in court, but still, the banks paid the money only after getting some documents signed by the farmers. The lawyers of the farmers who filed the petition in the High Court said that the documents were being signed to show that the loan liability belonged to the farmers.

What the High Court said

On September 20, the High Court had ordered that the entire amount due to the farmers be paid within one month. Supplyco was also instructed to implement this and submit a report on October 31. Last week, the government informed that even after a month, the entire dues could not be paid.

The farmers' lawyers explained to the court the difficulty in getting money from the bank. A PRS loan is sanctioned when the Paddy Receipt Slip (PRS) issued by Supplyco is given to the bank. If the government defaults on this repayment, the CIBIL score of the farmers will go down. Farmers also said that the PRS loan is affecting their CIBIL score. Justice Devan Ramachandran then directed that the PRS loan arrears should not affect the CIBIL score of the farmers.

Petition will be filed again

Sivanandan, a native of Palakkad Kollengode; CK Ramesh, a native of Chittoor; Pappachan, a native of Haripad Nangiarkulangara, and Palakkad Nenmeni Padashekara Nellulpadaka Samiti are the ones who approached the High Court to get money from the government.

In its September order, the high court had said that farmers who approach banks for money should only be made to sign receipts for their payment. Advocate Millu Dandapani, appearing for Pappachan, a resident of Haripad, said that in the event that a farmer taking his own life, a petition would be filed again seeking more clarity on the issue.