CPM demands compensation for all tenant farmers

Vijayawada: CPM state committee demanded that all tenant farmers who lost their crops in the recent Cyclone Montha be compensated without discrimination. The committee urged the government to identify the actual cultivators through gram sabhas and ensure that compensation reaches all tenant farmers, irrespective of whether their crops were officially registered.

Party state secretary V Srinivasa Rao said in a statement on Thursday that most tenant farmers have been left out of the cyclone relief process due to the government’s decision to extend assistance only to those with registered crops. Even several farmers who submitted applications are reportedly being denied compensation, he lamented. Although the government application form includes a column for “actual cultivator,” he said that many officials are not filling it in, resulting in significant losses to genuine tenants.

“It is unfair to pay compensation to landowners who have not invested in cultivation, while the real farmers who lost their crops receive nothing,” Srinivasa Rao said. He said many tenant farmers were disheartened after authorities announced the completion of the enumeration process, as their names were missing from the records.

He also noted that the losses of numerous poor and middle-class farmers have not been documented properly. He said that following widespread concerns, the government recently extended the enumeration deadline by two days. He demanded that tenant farmers be allowed to apply during this extended period and that steps be taken to ensure timely compensation. However, he appealed to tenant farmers not to lose hope and to continue filing applications and organizing collectively to secure their rightful compensation.