Activists blame corruption, lax officials
Families of nearly half of the farmers in Maharashtra who have committed suicide over the last four years are not eligible to get even the paltry Rs 1 lakh compensation thanks to government rules. Maharashtra, along with Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, AP, Chhattisgarh and MP, registers a high number of farmer suicides .
An RTI application by activist Jitendra Ghadge has revealed that of the total 5,698 suicides registered in rural Maharashtra since 2011, especially in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, spouses of 2,731 victims have been found ineligible to receive government aid–either because the deceased did not have a bank loan against the cultivation planned in that season or did not own a piece of land.
Activists say there is an urgent need to review compensation systems and strengthen the agrarian economy . Experts and activists relate the large number of `ineligible’ suicides by farmers in Maharashtra not only with acutely distressful agrarian issues but also to the extremes the urban and rural economies have attained, forcing youth in rural areas to shun farming and migrate to urban set-ups.
According to them, district committees decide on the eligibility of compensation (Rs 30,000 cash and a cheque of Rs 70,000) based on bank and land records established by family members and the police in the inquest panchanamas, which sometimes contain many loopholes.
Kishor Tiwari, a farmers’ activist from Vidarbha, said there were serious issues with the existing methods in deciding criteria for compensation. “Corruption and political interference are rampant apart from the lackadaisical approach of senior police and revenue officials in those districts,“ he said.
Journalist and researcher of agrarian crises Jaideep Hardikar, who has authored a book based on the life of farmers and PAPs (project-affected people), said farm labourers or marginal farmers having no direct access to banks were getting no attention although they too shared the agony of a failed monsoon. “Though the situations vary , the issues remain the same in their lives,“ he added. Hardikar said the case rejection or ineligibility had gone up since 2008 and there was a need to tackle the issue more scientifically.
According to Tiwari, a survey of 17 lakh families by the government showed distress and frustration due to economic, educational and medical reasons besides debts and damages to crops in natural calamities as reasons for the suicides. “Expectations of the younger generation are increasing. When a clerk or a peon in an urban area who relocates from rural areas is able to earn a decent sum, a person working on a farm is unable to meet the expectations of family members. Distress and frustration are acute due to ailments, education and agrarian uncertainties,“ he said.
“This is the failure of the government in offering better opportunities in rural areas. Why does a Rs one lakh loan become a reason for suicide in rural areas?“ asks Hardikar and answers it himself: “Because prices and yields are volatile and returns or investments are not guaranteed.“
“Gender bias, lack of interest among collectors and senior police officials in verifying the police and revenue reports, loopholes in investigating reasons of suicide such as borrowing money from private money lenders, property disputes, alleged consumption of liquor and alleged extramarital affairs are responsible for rising number of ineligible cases,“ said other activists who did not want to be named.
