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Claims of reduction in farmer suicides disputed

MUMBAI: On the eve of an official review of the Prime Minister’s special rehabilitation package for farmers of Vidarbha, voluntary groups are protesting against the Maharashtra government’s claims that suicides have come down and say the package is not the answer to the severe agrarian crisis in the region.

During 2006, the total number of suicide cases reported was 1,448 out of which 577 cases were found to be due to agrarian distress, said an official note on the package.

This year, up to August 10, 700 hundred cases were reported. Out of this, 621 cases were inquired into by the district level committees and 106 cases were found to be due to “agrarian distress,” the official note said.

“As a result of the successful implementation of both the State and Central government packages, the suicide rate is reduced to almost half compared to what it was prior to the implementation of the package,” the note concludes.

However, Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti who has been tracking the suicides, told journalists here that there were 771 suicides so far this year as per the government’s own records.

“On what basis was the government saying they had reduced,” he asked. Since the package was announced over a year ago, 1,500 farmers killed themselves, he said. Over seven years, 10,000 farmers committed suicide and there was complete apathy on the part of the government and political parties on this issue.

Every eight hours, a farmer was killing himself and the Prime Minister’s package had done nothing to change the situation, he said. The State government’s refusal to pay the promised Rs. 2,700 a quintal of cotton was dishonoured. Even if they paid this amount now the suicides would not stop, he admitted. The government had to ensure that loans were waived completely in a phased manner and also give incentives to reduce the cultivation cost of cotton.

The government’s track record in buying cotton was reducing every year and this must improve. It has to give the farmer good price protection as promised in the Congress party’s election manifesto.

He said it was a good idea to create an organic cotton zone in Vidarbha to help farmers.

On Friday in Mumbai, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will review the Rs. 3,750-crore package announced on July 1, 2006, along with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and senior officials and Ministers. The special rehabilitation package was announced for six districts of Vidarbha — Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldana, Washim and Wardha — to be implemented from 2006 to 2009. According to the latest update on the package, so far Rs. 2,784.02 crore was made available for different programmes under the package and till July 2007 end, Rs. 1,795.80 crore was spent.

The package consists of relief measures in the form of ex-gratia assistance for health and education, waiver of interest, increasing credit flow, providing loans for alternative income from dairy, agriculture extension, increasing irrigation potential and expediting pending projects, apart from water shed development and horticulture.

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Claims of reduction in farmer suicides disputed

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