Telangana State to probe farmer's suicides

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao directed chief secretary Rajiv Sharma to obtain district-wise details and inquire whether farmers committed suicide due to crop failure on account of deficit rainfall and lack of power.

The government has decided to pay compensation to the families of farmers based on the enquiry report. Over 350 suicides have been reported in the last four months, which the ruling party is denying.

Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat last week, the Chief Minister said, “It’s wrong to say that hundreds of farmers committed suicide in Telangana due to the failure of crops.

Preliminary reports received from the districts point out that there are only few such incidents. We have asked the chief secretary to inquire into these cases and submit a report at the earliest based on which compensation will be offered.”

Dr Sharma directed all district collectors to inquire into the suicide cases by involving staff from revenue and police departments. He asked them to ensure that the staff visits all the affected families and get information from them over the reasons that led to suicides by farmers.

“Opposition parties are trying to make it seem that all the suicides are that of farmers to malign the TRS government. There is no truth in this. We have inquired with local officials who said that not all deaths were farmer suicides. We have asked the chief secretary to inquire into these incidents and submit a report,” said Mr Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, the minister for agriculture.

He stated that the government had waived off crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh with an aim of relieving the farmers from debt burden and about Rs 400 crore in subsidy has already been paid.

“In my constituency (Banswada), there is an Andhra Bank in Birpur mandal. All Andhra Bank branches in Nizamabad district impleme-nted the loan waiver scheme, except Birpur mandal, because its manager Appa Rao refused. I was forced to ask the collector to take steps. Only when officials threatened to lock the bank, he relented. Such people are scattered across the state,” he alleged.

He added, “We deposited 25 per cent of the amount in the first instalment and banks will add 30 per cent. We have deposited Rs 4,250 crore with the banks and the banks sanctioned Rs 7,500 crore.”

When asked about suicides by 300-odd farmers, he said the chief secretary asked collectors to gather information. The government will stand by the farmers and extend all support to the families, he added.

“It said all the suicide figures appearing in newspapers are wrong, but some newspapers are writing false news. You know which papers they are and they are habituated to it,” he said.

Asserting the loan waiver scheme was being implemented as promised, Mr Srinivas Reddy said he had gone to the field and personally monitored it. “I had gone to the field. If you want, I will take you too. The beneficiaries can be viewed online. So far 17, 85,220 farmers got waivers,” he said.

Asked how many farmers committed suicides, Mr Srinivas Reddy said he did not have the data right now and that information was being collected.

“Some are projecting as if the farmers’ suicides were taking place only during the TRS government. This is wrong. From 1998 till 2014, 3915 farmers committed suicides during the Congress and the Telugu Desam governments. No farmer should commit suicide. The government will stand by them.”

Mr Srinivas Reddy dismissed the Telugu Desam allegations that neither he nor the Chief Minister, Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao, were pursuing with the Centre on power, farmers and other issues.

Showing newspaper clippings of his meeting with the Union agriculture minister in New Delhi recently, he said the Chief Minister and the Telangana government has represented to the Centre on several issues regularly from the day of formation of the state and sought its help and support.