Vidarbha farmer suicides still average over one a day

Suicides of despairing farmers continue in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, despite the claimed implementation of the Rs 3,000-crore Prime Minister’s package and a Rs 1,000-crore package of the state government.

Official data released last week show 45 suicides still take place every month. In the past 10 years, a total of 4,427 suicides took place in five districts. After an official loan-waiver scheme was supposed to have taken effect, 919 farmer suicides were reported in the past 20 months.

This contradicts the government’s earlier statements. A senior state government official told Business Standard: “There has been a gradual decline in farmers’ suicides, though they have not completely stopped even after implementation of the packages of central and state governments. Farmers committ suicides largely due to indebtedness. There were 1,246 farmer suicides in 2007 in Vidarbha, 1,147 suicides in 2008 and 966 in 2009. However, the latest data is alarming.”

The official said a district committee decides who are eligible for the compensation (for a suicide). It is chaired by the district collector and includes the district police chief, the zila parishad’s chief executive officer, agriculture officers, representatives of the panchayat samiti, farmers and non-government organisations.

He said legislation to curb the operations of moneylenders had been sent for central approval. And, that new chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had announced a new mechanism to monitor implementation of the various packages to arrest farmers’ suicides; it would be soon put in place.

The Vidarbha People’s Movement Committee, working on the issue, says the latest official data understate the gravity of the situation.

Vidarbha apart, 20 farmers across the state have committed suicide after severe damage to their crops after heavy and untimely rainfall. The state government has announced a package of Rs 1,000 crore to those who lost almost all crops due to these rains that lashed many parts after the normal monsoon was over. The area damaged is estimated at 544,000 hectares.