In approving Tamil Nadu’s 2016 loan exemption plan for smallholders and marginal farmers on Tuesday, the Supreme Court stated that the purpose of giving up agricultural loans is to promote troubled farmers and bring justice to the social order.

Judge Dhananjaya pointed out: “The purpose of waiving agricultural loans is to inspire troubled farmers who bear the brunt of unstable weather conditions, low yields and price drops due to market conditions.” Y Chandrachud and AS Bopanna. The bench emphasized that the loan exemption program is also in line with the guiding principles of national policies.

“The questioned loan exemption program is essentially a social policy that follows the guiding principles of national policy, and aims to eliminate inequalities in status, income, and facilities… The goal of promoting the welfare of farmers is achieved as a class that ensures economic and social justice. Full endorsement of Article 38,” the court said. Article 38 stipulates that the state shall strive to promote the well-being of the people by ensuring and protecting a just social order as effectively as possible. The society, economy and politics shall be informed of all institutions of national life. Approving the plan of the Tamil Nadu government, the bench pointed out that in 2016, a loan exemption program was introduced for farmers with up to 5 acres of land, aiming to achieve substantive equality in society by taking affirmative actions to improve social and economic comparison. The weak part.

“Since the damage suffered by smallholders and marginal farmers is obvious compared with other farmers, it is reasonable that the benefits of the program are only provided to specific classes, because smallholders and marginal farmers are themselves a class,” said the court.

It believes that the classification based on the degree of land ownership has a reasonable connection with the goal that aims to achieve by excluding farmers who own large amounts of land from its scope. “The classification based on the degree of land holding is not arbitrary, because the impact of climate change or other external forces is unequal due to the inherent disadvantages of smallholders and marginal farmers.”

The court reversed the 2017 Madras High Court’s judgment, which instructed the state government to extend the benefits of the program to large farmers.

News Source : Hindustan Times