By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The Kerala Farmers' Debt Relief Commission is in dire straits as its office has no basic facilities and desperately needs more funds to function, the commission's chairman said here Wednesday.
Justice (retd) Abdul Gafoor, chairman of the commission, lashed out at the government's callous attitude of not extending proper infrastructural facilities to the commission set up in March. He was speaking at a press conference that was attended by state Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran.
"If I don't say this now then people will think I am not doing my job as chairman of the commission. I had sent a report to the revenue minister in April, saying that no money has been allotted for running the office. I was told Rs.2.5 million was sanctioned last week but we can't use it because the commission does not have a bank account," Gafoor said.
Ratnakaran intervened and said setting up a commission anywhere usually does take some time.
"Everything will be in place soon and things will start working," said the minister, who belongs to the Communist Party of India (CPI).
Not satisfied with Ratnakaran's answer, Gafoor hit out at the party's lax attitude. "I too belonged to the CPI of yesteryears … not like the present CPI," he remarked.
The Farmers' Debt Relief Commission was set up to adjudicate on petitions relating to farmers' debts, fix outstanding debts at fair limits, negotiate settlement of disputes and recommend to the government cases that can be written off.
The bill to set up the commission was passed in December 2006 and has been touted by the Left as a path-breaking initiative.
The commission has received hundreds of applications from aggrieved farmers. But with the commission itself in dire need of funds, the farmers may have to wait a while before their grievances are redressed.