The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Clapping agitation by farmers

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Tuesday, Mar 04, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Clapping agitation by farmers

Staff Reporter

In protest against recovery process taken up by officials in parts of Perambalur district

PERAMBALUR: Members of the Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam staged a ‘clapping’agitation in front of the Collectorate here on Monday, urging the State Government to write off the Land development loan sanctioned between 1964 and 1980. They protested the recovery process recently taken by the Revenue officials in parts of the district.

Addressing the farmers, the State secretary of the Sangam R. Raja Chidambarm said that the Revenue authorities had expressed their inability to write off the loan, since the farmers had mortgaged their land for availing themselves of the credit, known as ‘Thakkavi loans’ among the farmers, sanctioned for deepening the well or land reclamation.

Loans waived

He said that the State Government had waived off loans for the purchase of tractor or land development purposes, sanctioned under similar conditions.

The district president of the Sangam, P. Manickam, said that the Centre should write off the loans without any discrimination between small and big farmers on the lines of the policy taken by the State Government. The farmers also demanded direct procurement by the State Government of agricultural produce such as groundnut, chilli, onion, maize and sunflower.

Procurement price

The procurement price for maize per quintal should be fixed at Rs.850. They also wanted the Centre to withdraw its new import export policy, affecting the interests of farmers.

On the waiver of loans benefiting the small and marginal farmers announced in the recent Budget proposals, they urged the Centre to refund the sum to the farmers who had already repaid their dues.

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