|HT|
The purpose of waiver of agricultural loans is to uplift distressed farmers and bring about just social order, said the Supreme Court on Tuesday as it approved Tamil Nadu’s loan waiver scheme of 2016 for small and marginal farmers. “The purpose of providing a waiver of agricultural loans is to uplift the distressed farmers, who have been facing the brunt of the erratic weather conditions, low produce, and fall in the prices because of the market conditions,” noted a bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and AS Bopanna. The bench highlighted that a loan waiver scheme is also in pursuance of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
“The impugned loan waiver scheme is, in essence, a social policy in pursuance of the Directive Principles of State Policy, introduced with an object to eliminate inequality in status, income, and facilities... The objective of promoting the welfare of the farmers as a class to secure economic and social justice is well recognised by Article 38,” said the court.
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