IMPORTANT POINTS
Rule of law binds everyone, including the State.
Courts cannot lay down policies for the Government.
In view of the statutes mandating constitution of monitoring committees, there is no need for appointment of Court Commissioners, for the present.
Need for ensuring compliance with directions given – continuing mandamus.

JUDGMENT

Madan B. Lokur, J.

1. In three earlier decisions concerning the prevailing drought or drought-like situation, we had stressed the obligation of the Government of India complying with all the provisions of the laws enacted by Parliament, namely, the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the National Food Security Act, 2013 and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. This will, of necessity, require establishing and constituting bodies and authorities provided for by law and making available the necessary finances for implementing and abiding by the law. The State cannot say that it is not bound to follow the law and cannot adhere to statutory provisions enacted by Parliament and create a smokescreen of a lack of finances or some other cover-up. The rule of law binds everyone, including the State.

2. In this decision, we concern ourselves with the remaining substantive issues raised by the petitioner Swaraj Abhiyan.

Relief for Crop Loss

3. The grievance of Swaraj Abhiyan is that the ‘Crop Input Advance’ or the ‘Agricultural Input Subsidy’ offered by the Government of India is far too low and in the event of a drought, the monetary relief (compensation or ex gratia) received by a farmer does not even cover the cost of cultivation of crops. Reference is made to the cost of cultivation of some principal crops in India relating to 2015-16 (average 2010-11 to 2012-13) obtained from the Comprehensive Scheme for Studying the Cost of Cultivation of Principal Crops in India by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics in the Ministry of Agriculture. By way of illustration, it has been pointed out that in respect of some Kharif crops such as paddy, the cost per hectare is Rs. 42,441; for maize it is Rs. 31,492 per hectare; for jowar it is Rs. 27,292 per hectare; for bajra it is Rs. 19,558 per hectare.

4. According to the petitioner, in terms of the norms of assistance from the States Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) the input subsidy where the crop loss is 33% and above for agriculture crops, horticulture crops and annual plantation crops is Rs. 6,800/-per hectare in rainfed areas and restricted to sown areas; Rs.13,500/-per hectare in assured irrigated areas, subject to minimum assistance not less than Rs. 1,000 and restricted to sown areas. Reference in this regard is made to a letter dated 8th April, 2015 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Disaster Management Division). This is said to be clearly insufficient.

5. On these broad facts, the first prayer made by the petitioner is that the relief or subsidy is extremely low and only where the crop loss is 33% and above. The amount should be realistic and there is no reason why an arbitrary figure of 33% of crop loss should be fixed. It is submitted that the subsidy is a safety net for farmers in times of distress and therefore the compensation should be far more realistic in the event of a failed crop.

6. The second prayer is connected with the first prayer and is to the effect that farmers should be given immediate relief for crop loss for the year 2015-16. The relief or subsidy should not be only adequate but should also be given timely with the entire process being transparent so that there is no allegation of corruption.

7. In response, the Union of India submits that under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Central Government has constituted a National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for meeting any threatening disaster situation or disaster. This is exclusively for the purposes of alleviating the adverse impact of a disaster. Similarly, under Section 48 of the Disaster Management Act, the State Governments have constituted a fund called the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

8. The 14th Finance Commission has recommended an allocation of Rs. 61,219 crores as the aggregate corpus for the SDRF for the period 2015-20. The norms for providing financial assistance have been revised on 8th April