13,517 farmers ended lives in Amravati since 2001

Mumbai: Despite various efforts by the Maharashtra government to prevent farmer suicides in the Amaravati division, 13,517 farmers took their lives between 2001 and 2016, including 171 in Jalgaon district in 2016.

The state government admitted this in the Assembly on Wednesday while replying to a question on the issue.

Congress leaders had raised the issue about farmers’ suicides in Vidarbha. MLAs Vijay Vadettiwar, Sunil Kedar and Amar Kale alleged that out of 14,202 suicides, only the families of only 6,852 victims received financial aid while the families of 7,350 had not received any help. They asked that when the government was planning to help the families.

In the written reply, relief and rehabilitation minister Chandrakant Patil admitted, “In Amravati division, including Wardha district, 13,517 farmers committed suicide between 2001 and 2016 of which 5,950 cases were eligible for aid and 7,505 were not eligible while inquiry into 62 matters is still pending,” Patil said. In Amaravati district alone, 340 farmers committed suicide in 360 days.

In Nagpur division, 368 farmers have committed suicide of which 204 cases were eligible while 137 were ineligible. In Buldhana district, between January 2016 and November 2016, 219 farmers committed suicide of which 64 suicides were over crop issues and 60 were due to debt, the minister said.

In Jalgaon district, Mr Patil said, 171 farmers committed suicide in 2016. Only 55 cases were eligible for the financial assistance while 104 were ineligible and 12 are still pending for inquiry.

Speaking on the initiatives taken by the government to stop the farmers’ suicide, the minister said that a special pilot project has been implemented in Yavatmal and Osmanabad districts.