Pressure by banks leading to farmer deaths? Uttarakhand HC seeks replies from Centre, state, RBI

  • | Wednesday | 13th September, 2017

NAINITAL: Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Wednesday sought replies from the central and state governments as well as RBI within 21 days on farmer deaths caused due to pressure mounted by banks for recovery of loans. His family members accused a public sector bank of harassment and mounting pressure on him to repay the loan. Today, the farmer is caught in a vicious debt cycle which often becomes the cause of his death. His family members said that he was under pressure to repay the loan taken from the Gramin Bank. Speaking to TOI, Sandeep Tiwari, counsel for the petitioner said, "We are thankful to the honourable court for taking up the matter.

NAINITAL: Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Wednesday sought replies from the central and state governments as well as RBI within 21 days on farmer deaths caused due to pressure mounted by banks for recovery of loans. The order came after a public interest litigation (PIL) submitted in the court stated that several farmers had died in Uttarakhand since June this year either by committing suicide or suffering heart attack after debt recovery notices were issued to them from lending banks. The petition also alleged that despite the deaths, no co-operation was extended to the beleaguered farmers from either the state or central governments.The PIL was filed by Ganesh Upadhyay, a resident of Kichha in Udham Singh Nagar district. Speaking to TOI, Sandeep Tiwari, counsel for the petitioner said, "We are thankful to the honourable court for taking up the matter. Today, the farmer is caught in a vicious debt cycle which often becomes the cause of his death. Urgent action is required so that the situation of the farmers can be improved."Pointing out why farmers in Uttarakhand were being driven to despair, the petition says, "The topography of Uttarakhand is characterised by sandy soils which do not retain water for long time. Due to unavailability of moisture in the soil, the crop productivity is often not very good. Also, due to variation in altitude, the (quantum of) rainfall also differs from place to place affecting the crop production."The petition adds that "often, the payment made by the government to farmers for their produce is so delayed that it eventually results in farmers taking recourse to borrowing money at a high interest thereby getting caught in a trap from which they find it difficult to escape."Till date, Uttarakhand has witnessed the deaths of many debt-ridden farmers. While four committed suicide, three died due to a heart attack.The first death was reported on June 16. Surendra Singh, a 58-year-old farmer from Doldungri village in Berinag block of Pithoragarh district who had been under a debt of Rs 1.25 lakh committed suicide by consuming poison. His family members said that he was under pressure to repay the loan taken from the Gramin Bank. On June 24, Ram Avtar, a 46-year-old farmer in Khatima of Udham Singh Nagar district committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree after receiving notices from banks for the recovery of Rs 3.13 lakh that he had taken as loan.On July 4, farmer Massa Singh of village Biriya Bhood in Ghusri of Sitarganj in Udham Singh Nagar district suffered a cardiac arrest soon after he received a loan notice from the Uttarakhand Gramin Bank. He had reportedly borrowed Rs 2.25 lakhs from the bank to purchase a trolley.On July 12, Balvinder Singh Sarna, a 38-year-old farmer committed suicide by consuming poison at his home in Baans Khedi village of Bajpur tehsil in Udham Singh Nagar district. His family said that Sarna had taken a loan of around Rs 7 lakh and had been distressed for the past few days because he had been unable to repay the amount which might have lead him to take the extreme step.On July 15, Bhajan Singh, a 65-year-old farmer of Pratappur village in Khatima of Udham Singh Nagar district, who had taken bank loans of Rs 20 lakh, died of cardiac arrest. His family members alleged that Singh succumbed to stress he was undergoing after the bank served him a loan recovery notice.On July 20, Raj Kumar, a 48-year-old farmer committed suicide by consuming pesticide at Swadi village in Chamba block of Tehri district. It was claimed by his family that Kumar, a father of seven, was distressed because of his inability to repay the Rs 45,000 loan that he had taken.In the most recent incident on September 7, Radha Krishna, a 65-year-old farmer of Chanderi village in Khatima of Udham Singh Nagar district, who had bank loans of Rs 13 lakh on him, died of cardiac arrest. His family members accused a public sector bank of harassment and mounting pressure on him to repay the loan.

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