Eknath Khadse

Maharashtra agriculture minister Eknath Khadse has informed the Legislative Assembly that out of the 3,228 farmers who committed suicide in 2015, more than 1,300 were because of reasons not related to agriculture. Out of the total suicides, 1,841 were eligible for government aid. The minister also said that over 20,000 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra in the last 15 years, but only 8,066 suicides were due to crop failure, loan and recovery pressure.

Mr Khadse revealed the information in a written reply to a query on the farmers’ suicide in the Assembly. “During January 2015 to December 2015, 3,228 suicides were committed, of which 1,841 were eligible, 903 were ineligible and 484 are pending inquiry,” Mr Khadse said.

In the same reply, he admitted that over 20,000 farmers have ended their lives in the last 15 years and 2015 had the highest suicides. “However, 8,066 suicides were committed due to crop failure, debt and recovery pressure,” he said.

All party members had asked the government if it has helped the families of the farmers who have committed suicide. The MLAs, including Ashish Shelar (BJP), Parag Alavani (BJP), Bhaskar Jadhav (NCP), Ameen Patel (Congress), Vijay Vadettiwar (Congress) had also asked if the government was thinking of giving compensation to the families on the lines of Telangana. The Telangana government gives '6 lakh as compensation and Rs 51,000 for marriage of daughters. However, the minister refused the demand. Currently, the Maharashtra government offers only Rs 1 lakh as aid for the kin of farmers who have committed suicide.

The minister said that the government had proposed Rs 4,002.82 crore aid for the drought-stricken farmers through supplementary demands. Another proposal of Rs 116 crore meant for orchards is pending before the Centre. So far, the Centre has sanctioned Rs 2,548 crore for the farmers and Rs 2,536 crore has been distributed, he added.