Over 12,000 Maharashtra farmers committed suicide in 3 years: Govt

More than 12,000 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra between 2015 and 2018, the Legislative Assembly was informed Friday.

Out of the total 12,021 farmer suicides during the three-year period, 6,888 cases were found to be eligible for government aid after scrutiny by district-level committees, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Subhash Deshmukh told the House in a written reply.

So far, family members of 6,845 farmers have been given financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each, he said.

Between January and March 2019, 610 farmers have committed suicide out of which 192 cases were eligible for financial assistance, the minister said.

Of the 192 eligible cases, financial compensation has been given to the kin of 182 farmers, Deshmukh said.

The remaining cases are being scrutinised to check their eligibility for compensation, he said.