The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : LDF seeks note on debt waiver plan

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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

LDF seeks note on debt waiver plan

Special Correspondent

Discussion on SEZ proposals deferred

Excess land at tea estates in Peerumade to be assessed
Says Indo-ASEAN pact will hit
coconut, pepper

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) State committee has sought a report from the government on the pros and cons of the Central farm debt waiver scheme and the steps to be taken for the effective implementation of the loan waiver scheme announced by the State government.

The LDF panel wanted Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran and Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran to attend its next meeting to brief it about the two issues.

The decision was taken in the light of the difficulties that had arisen on account of the stiff criteria set by the Centre to implement its debt waiver scheme and to see how the functioning of the Kerala State Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission could be made more effective, LDF convener Vaikom Viswan told reporters here on Saturday.

Central norms

The criteria set by the Union government had pushed hundreds of persons out of its ambit, but this had not been convincingly communicated to the people, he pointed out.

Mr. Viswan said the committee had asked the government to assess the extent of excess land in the possession of persons who had taken tea estates formerly owned by the Ram Bahadur Thapa group in the Peerumade area of Idukki district so that the interests of estate workers who had been rendered jobless could be protected.

The government had been told to report back to the committee at its next meeting, the LDF convener added.

On SEZs

According to Mr. Viswan, the committee did not take up the controversial proposal for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the State as the issue was yet to be discussed threadbare by individual constituents.

He refused to elaborate on the subject, but took a dig at KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala for his remark that the LDF was planning to give away thousands of acres of precious land to real estate lobbies in the name of SEZs.

“I don’t understand how the PCC chief has suddenly developed such concerns, for it was his party that had given away thousands of acres of land all over India to monopolies with scant regard for the country’s labour laws,” he said.

Mr. Viswan said there was no question of the LDF government giving land to real estate and land mafias or its permitting breach of labour rights.

The matter would come up for discussion in the LDF as and when necessary, he added, indicating that consensus still eluded the LDF on the issue. On the implications of the Indo-ASEAN trade pact, he said it would have a serious negative impact on coconut and pepper, two major crops of Kerala.

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