New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a public interest petition expressing serious concern over suicide by hundreds of farmers due to starvation and poverty and seeking the court's intervention to prevent such deaths.

A three-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justices C.K. Thakker and Markandey Katju issued the notice after hearing the petitioner, Sanjeev Bhatnagar, an advocate and agricultural economist. The Bench also issued notice to the States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

The petitioner submitted that in the last five years over 10,000 farmers had committed suicide and most of them were from these four States, which were the worst affected.

Indebtedness

He said farmers in various States were reported to be under very high indebtedness and were ending their lives due to failure to repay the loans. Mr. Bhatnagar said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had admitted that farmers had not been given fair prices for their produce, which had resulted in their indebtedness. He said that sometimes natural calamities like flood and drought added to their woes.

The petitioner said the Union Government and the States concerned were under constitutional obligation to ensure the survival of the farmers. He said the Government's planning lacked in concern for the farmers, as they were virtually left at the mercy of private moneylenders coupled with the vagaries of nature.

Mr. Bhatnagar said the heavy cost of cultivation in the inputs and other farming operations had not been correctly estimated by the Government agencies to grant them fair price of their produce.

The absence of mandatory crop insurance in areas where the natural calamities had ruined the crops had forced the farmers to remain helpless.

The petitioner said families of the farmers who had committed suicide needed immediate care and redressal by condoning the re-payment of the loans.

He sought a direction to the respondents to constitute an experts committee to investigate the basic reasons and lapses in the execution of the existing agriculture policy meant and a direction to the authorities to take appropriate steps to prevent further loss of lives.

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