Was P. Velliangirinathan (60), a farmer in Palladam who allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday, facing severe cash crunch due to low returns from the agriculture mechanisation venture he started during 2015-16?
A leading private sector bank had seized one of his tractors for non-payment of loan, after obtaining necessary legal permissions.
Velliangirinathan had started a ‘custom hiring centre’ in Palladam investing ₹ 25.13 lakh under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) scheme, to supply farm appliances on rent to farmers.
He had contributed ₹ 7.63 lakh, and had taken a bank loan for ₹ 7.5 lakh. The remaining ₹ 10 lakh was offset by the government as subsidy.
Velliangirinathan bought two tractors, two rotary tillers, two different types of cultivators, a reaper-cum-binder, a power tiller and a multi-crop thrasher for his centre.
His fortunes reportedly dipped because of the drought-like situation that prevailed in Palladam.
Because of this, the general farming activities came down in the region. This, in turn, brought down the demand for agriculture implements too resulting in defaulting loan re-payment, said an Agriculture Department official.
But the haste with which the bank moved to attach his tractor has not gone well with many bank employees.
Bank managements are not in a hurry to take action against corporate firms who too have defaulted in re-payment, they said.