(Bhubaneswar, November 30, 2009) Odisha government should bring out a White paper on the continuous farmers suicide and mining scam in the state. The Janata Vikash Manch along with other organizations of the civil society will submit a memorandum to the State governor on December 10, on the Human Rights Day, to plea the Centre and direct the State government to immediately offer relief package to the farmers committing suicides and book all the guilty involved in the mining scam.
In an interactive session on the Farmers suicide and mining scam in Odisha jointly organized by JVM and Agragamee on November 29th, the participants in the discussion have asked the state government to make it public the number of farmers who have committed suicides and what are the steps government has taken to check these suicides in future. The state should immediately bring out a white paper on the farmers suicide and mining scam, JVM members demanded.
Intervening in the debate, Pravin Patel, director, Tribal Welfare Society (TWS) said that Odisha has become a state of scams. A series of scams have taken place in the state, the latest one being the mining scam. The funds which should have been gone to the state exchequer have been cornered by the scamsters, he said.
Patel said that the weak financial condition is one of the main reasons for the state government not able to allocate adequate funds for the agricultural section which has hit the poor and marginal farmers badly. Both the farmers suicide and the mining scams are inter-related. Because of the scams like in the mining sector, the farmers are still poor resulting into their committing suicides, he said.
It was decided in the meeting that JVM along with Odisha Nagrik Manch (ONAM), Agragamee and all other members of the civil society will submit a memorandum to the state governor on both the burning issues to the State governor on December 10,, the human rights day. Memorandum will request the governor to intervene in both the issues for its immediate solution.
Chairing the meeting, Dr. Bhagban Prakash said that the globalization has badly affected the agricultural sector. The farmers are facing problems wherever the new methods of farming were introduced. Wherever, the farmers are following the organic style of farming, not a single case of farmers suicide has been reported, he said.
Holding the land holding pattern responsible for the suicides, Trilochan Tripathy, a farmer said that the land in the state is largely owned by the Brahmin and Kayasthas who lease their land to the landless poor and marginal farmers. These farmers have to pay 50% of the yields to the land owners, which is not a financially viable arrangement. They also do not get other facilities from the government as the land leasing arrangement is not on paper, he said.
A ten member committee was formed in the meeting to prepare a plan of action on how to steer this movement for the welfare of the farmers and to recover all the money from the scamsters in the mining scam. Dr. Bhagban Prakash will chair this committee.
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Janata Vikas Manch: janatavikasmanch@gmail.com
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