Date:12/06/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/06/12/stories/2004061213990300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Plea to activate welfare board for farm labour

By Our Special Correspondent

COIMBATORE, JUNE 11. The Coimbatore District Agricultural Workers' Association has appealed to the State Government to activate the welfare board set up exclusively for farm labour. This was one of the resolutions passed at the district council meeting here on Thursday, according to a release from N.V.Damodharan, its secretary.

It pointed out that the State Government constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Kolappan in 1998 in order to study the condition of more than one crore farm labourers in the State. And it had submitted 43 recommendations for their uplift. The DMK Government then announced minimum wages and welfare board for them. As many as seven lakh workers were also enrolled by the board as its members.

However, the board remained dormant. Hence the association representatives had already called on the Minister, O.Panneerselvam, to initiate steps to activate the body.