Bombay HC says no to PIL on farm loan

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has rejected a PIL that challenged a Government Resolution (GR) under which Rs 10,000 loan will be given only to those farmers who are needy and want to sow crops for the Kharif season. According to the GR, farmers who have four-wheelers and an occupation other than agriculture, cannot avail of the bank loan. The petitioner said that these conditions were arbitrary and the government should be directed to remove them.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjulla Chellur and Justice Nitin Jamdar was hearing the petition filed by activist Kalpana Inamdar, who claimed that the GR issued on June 14 has imposed conditions because of which genuine farmers are facing problems in receiving benefit from the scheme. So farmers who own four-wheelers, or have occupations other than agriculture as well as those who are working privately and paying income tax to the government, will not get the benefit.

“There are people who have occupations other than farming. These people are farming because they don’t earn enough money from their other occupations, so avoiding such class of people is arbitrary because their income is not sufficient,” advocate Shilpa Madki, said. “We are demanding that the state GR should be quashed and a new GR needs to be issued in which all the farmers should get Rs 25,000 loan for sowing in the Kharif season,” the petitioner said.

However, chief government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani argued, that “It is a policy decision of the state and we put forwards such conditions in the GR keeping the very poor farmer in mind.” The court accepted the contention of the state and said, “ If any farmer is facing a problem in getting the after issuance of state GR, can directly approach this court, but no PIL is required to be filed in this issue”