Immediately after being sworn in, our new Chief Minister ordered the supply of tariff-free electricity to farmers along with the waiver of their outstanding, unpaid electricity dues.  This has remained a strongly debated and controversial subject.  But, what are the real issues behind this debate?

The electoral reverses suffered by ruling parties in most states forced governments to focus on agriculture.  It was untouched by economic reform and this neglect is aggravating the rural and agrarian crisis.  One tragic and dramatic manifestation of this crisis is the spate of suicides by farmers, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The issue of farmers’ suicides has remained in the headlines even after the April-May round of general elections. Our newly elected governments at both the centre and the state have promised to put land reforms on a fast track, in an attempt to provide relief to our distressed farmers. Moreover, in our state, the recent proposals made by the communist parties and the People’s War Group (PWG) have once again brought the issue of land distribution and reforms into the spotlight.

The union government’s announcement of the Rs.17,000 crore rehabilitation package for farmers in the 31 suicide-prone districts of AP, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra focuses attention on the plight of agricultural sector in a fast-growing economy. Emphasis on irrigation, interest waiver, watershed development, seed replacement and dairy industry is welcome.