NEW DELHI: Identifying "informal tenancy" as one of the main reasons behind farmer suicides since many don’t get farm credit and crop insurance, a group of secretaries has suggested the government come out with a model tenancy law. Such a law will protect the tenants as they will get access to loans from banks and financing agencies and it will also end the fear of original owners of losing the farmland to tenants.
Sources said the panel of top bureaucrats set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while pointing out how informal leasing is up to 40% in some states with around 10% land lying unutilized, said there is an urgent need to legalize all such leases.
Sources said the group dealing with issues on "farmer-centric issues in agriculture and allied sectors" has also suggested the need to excavate 5 lakh ponds and dug-wells annually under the rural jobs scheme and to create dedicated fund by raising tax free bonds to irrigate farmland. Highlighting that only 42% small and marginal farmers have access to credit, it has suggested providing fresh credit of Rs 50,000 crore.
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