Plea in HC to consider including sugarcane in Pongal gifts to ration card holders

Litigant claims that farmers had grown sugarcane in their fields in the fond hope that the government would procure them like the previous years and that they would will suffer losses otherwise if it does not happen

A farmer has filed a public interest litigation petition in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the State government to consider a representation made by him to provide sugarcane along with 1 kg raw rice, 1 kg sugar and ₹1,000 in cash as Pongal gift to all ration card holders.

The case has been listed for admission before the vacation bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and S. Sounthar on Wednesday. The litigant V. Radhakrishnan, 39, of Kurinjipadi in Cuddalore district claimed that the farmers would suffer losses if the government does not procure sugarcane from them.

The petitioner said many farmers had grown sugarcane in their fields this year expecting the government would procure it from them for a good price during the ensuing Pongal season, as it had done in the previous years, in order to distribute it to ration card holders along with other gifts.

However, to their shock, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) issued a press communique on December 22 stating that the government would give only raw rice, sugar and cash gift for the Pongal celebrations next month and there was no mention about the supply of sugarcane.

Contending that the farmers would have no choice but to sell their produce for a lesser price to the syndicates of purchasers if the government does not procure the sugarcane, the petitioner said that he had made a representation in this regard to the government on December 24. He wanted it to be considered favourably.