Karnataka farmer suicides: State government to provide compensation to all the affected families
Bengaluru: Not keen on being branded anti-farmer, the state government is learnt to have decided not to delve deep into details of farmer suicides that have rocked Karnataka since April this year and provide compensation to all the affected families.
Till Monday (August 3), as many as 234 cases of farmers ending their lives have been reported of which 188 cases were in July alone. Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda had said that the government has asked deputy commissioners’ of all districts concerned to send factual reports on the suicides in their respective districts.
They had also promised on the floor of the House that a committee of experts would be constituted depending upon the inputs from deputy commissioners. After the reports came in, the department of agriculture has reportedly taken a decision not to disclose the exact reasons for farmers’ deaths.
A senior officer in the agriculture department admitted that it was a ‘Catch-22’ situation for the government since it was not in a position to tell the truth.
A file seeking a probe by a committee of experts into the suicides is pending in the chief minister’s office. The officer said the issue was very sensitive with the Opposition trying to attack the government for its failure to check the suicides.
Not all deaths are related to agrarian reasons. But the government cannot make a public statement fearing it may open a Pandora’s Box and invite the wrath of the Opposition and even farmer organisations. All 234 suicide cases were referred to committees headed by assistant commissioners (ACs) who held. Sources close to the Chief Minister told Deccan Chronicle that Mr Siddaramaiah has issued directions to the authorities not to go deep into the reasons and disburse compensation soon after getting the postmortem and FSL reports.
Usually, it takes at least 2-3 months for the AC-headed panel to arrive at a decision but instructions have been given to complete all process as soon as possible. All DCs have been asked to distribute Rs 2 lakh each to families of the deceased and not bother too much about finding the reasons for the deaths. “Similar suicides had occurred when Mr S.M. Krishna was CM. It’s a phobia which does not die down,” said sources.
Sources also revealed that the CM is baffled why the deaths have not stopped despite instructions to all nationalised and co-operative banks not to forcefully collect crop loans, the action taken against moneylenders and appeals made to farmers on radio and television not to kill themselves.
CM to tour North Karnataka
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be visiting Dharwad and Gadag districts on Wednesday to meet the families of deceased farmers. According to a tentative plan, he will be going in a special aircraft from Bengaluru to Hubballi. From Hubballi, he will be going by road to Kabbenur village, Betadur in Dharwad district, Akkigunda and Jantli in Gadag district to console the families. He will return to Bengaluru in the evening.
