“Maharashtra reported 257 farmer suicides in January-March 2015”

Mumbai

As many as 257 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra due to agrarian reasons during January-March of 2015.

“Government of Maharashtra has reported that 257 farmers have committed suicide in the state due to agrarian reasons during the period January to March 2015,” Minister of State for Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundaria said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Maximum number of farmers suicides at 114 cases were reported from the Aurangabad region, followed by Amrawati – 102, Nagpur – 30 and Nashik – 9, the data showed.

The Maharashtra government has reported that it provides compensation of Rs 1 lakh in eligible cases to the family of those who have committed suicide due to crop failure, debt and inability to repay loan, Kundaria added.

Replying to a separate query, Kundaria said Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan governments have reported three, five and one cases of farmer suicide respectively, due to recent untimely rains and hailstorm.

Agriculture is a state subject, Kundaria said, adding that state governments take necessary measures for development of farm sector and welfare of farmers.

The Centre supplements efforts of the state governments through appropriate policy measures and budgetary support.

“The Government of India has taken several steps to revitalise the agriculture sector and improve the condition of farming community on sustainable basis by increasing investment, improving farm practices, rural infrastructure and delivery of credit, technology and other inputs, extension and marketing among others,” he said.

Other measures taken by the Centre for the benefit of farmers include hike in support price, increase in credit flow to farm sector, debt waiver and interest subvention on crop loan, he added.

In reply to a separate question, Kundaria said: “Amount of compensation to families of farmers who commit suicide is decided by the respective state governments.”

Similarly, the hurdles if any, in distribution of compensation to such families are also resolved by the respective state government, he added.

Farmer suicides ”complicated” issue, formal finance is key:RBI

Chandigarh

Cautioning against taking farmer suicides “lightly”, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said small and marginal farmers across the country should have access to formal financing.

Speaking within days of a farmer committing suicide at a public rally in Delhi, Rajan said one should neither take it “lightly” nor offer easy explanation as these are “complicated matters”.

He also said that lack of formal financing is bigger problem than excessive burden of informal financing.

“The need of the hour is to expand formal institutions to every corner of country. In the last few days, we have seen the tragic picture of farmer suicides…(these) are complicated matters. There is no easy explanation to why somebody takes ultimate step.

“One should neither take it lightly nor offer too easy an explanation. It needs to be studied,” Rajan said in the northern city of Chandigarh on Friday while addressing a function.

Following the suicide by Gajendra Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan, in full public view in Delhi, the issue of farmers ending their lives has come to the centrestage.

The incident also rocked Parliament and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed for a collective solution to the “deep-rooted” agrarian crisis.

“…it is lack of formal financing rather than the excessive burden of informal financing which is the problem.

So can we move formal financing to every area of the country,” he said, adding that Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana was one of the initiatives aimed at providing finance to needy ones.

The RBI Governor further laid emphasis on providing formal finance to small and marginal farmers who really do not have access to it.

“We need to look at whether we have right institutions.

Whether we have right incentive in the system,” he further said.

Maharashtra to do “vulnerability mapping” to help farmers

Mumbai

To keep a check on farmer suicides, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today unveiled a project for “vulnerability mapping” of agriculturists in the worst-hit Yavatmal and Osmanabad districts.

It will enable targeted intervention by ten departments to mitigate their sufferings.

Fadnavis said the “vulnerability mapping” will enable the Government to do targeted interventions, bringing schemes of ten departments under one comprehensive programme to mitigate the woes of the farmers.

He said the BJP-Shiv Sena Government had done all that is needed to provide relief to the farmers affected by crop losses.

The Chief Minister, however, admitted that the last few months had seen a rise in the incidence of farmer suicides as drought destroyed kharif crops while unseasonal rains and hailstorm damaged rabbi crops.

“Our aim is to provide moisture security and market to the farmers. In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, irrigation potential has increased from five lakh hectare to 28 lakh hectare through flow irrigation and small water structures,” he added.

Congress, NCP slam Maharashtra govt for under-reporting farmer suicides

Mumbai

Congress and NCP slammed the Maharashtra government for stating in a report to the Centre that only three farmers committed suicide in the state following the hailstorm and unseasonal rains in the last few weeks.

State Congress chief Ashok Chavan termed it highly insensitive.

“The state Congress will agitate more aggressively against the apathy of the government about the farmers,” he said, adding that about 1,200 farmers had ended their lives in the state in the last few weeks.

Leader of opposition in the Legislative Council and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde questioned the basis of the state government’s report to the Centre, saying that on an average seven farmers were committing suicide every day.

However, Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said there were only three cases of suicide due to the natural disasters.

The total number of farmers who committed suicide was 601 this year, but only three of them were due to damage caused by the unseasonal rains, he said.

– PTI