Kin of 20 farmers in Adilabad relieved after debt relief

Adilabad:The state government has sanctioned ex gratia and pending arrears to 20 families of farmers who committed suicide due to crop loss and mounting debts in the erstwhile Adilabad district. This long-awaited relief comes as part of a broader order (GO No. 15) issued on the High Court's direction, benefitting 141 families across the state.

The sanctioned amount of Rs 6 lakh per family is expected to help these bereaved families repay debts owed to moneylenders and focus on their children’s education. Among the beneficiaries, 18 families are from Adilabad district, with one each from Asifabad and Mancherial districts.

A majority — 85 per cent — of the farmers who took their own lives were tenant farmers who lacked land ownership and were excluded from the state’s Rythu Bima scheme, which provides insurance to farmers owning agricultural land. These families have faced significant financial distress, compounded by the loss of their primary earners.

One such family is that of Adivasi farmer Madavi Devuji of Pragnapur village, who cultivated unregistered hillock land (PP land) without a patta. Devuji, along with other farmers like Ravinder from Mediguda village, Srinivas from Mediguda of Jainad, and Chilumula Ramulu from Borigaon, died by suicide after struggling to repay loans following crop losses.

The Rythu Bima scheme, introduced in 2018 by the previous BRS government, aimed to support deceased farmers' families, but tenant farmers remained largely excluded due to the lack of land ownership.

The ex gratia amounts will be deposited into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, though this process may take some time. Adilabad district convener of the Rythu Swarajya Vedika, Sangepu Borranna, reiterated the urgent need for tenant farmers to be included in welfare schemes, as their exclusion leaves many vulnerable.