Maharashtra: 73 farmers commit suicide in Chandrapur from Jan to July 2023

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A total of 73 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district from January to July 2023, according to data released by the district administration. This includes 13 suicides that occurred in the previous month. Over the period from 2001 to 2023, 1,148 farmers have taken their own lives in the district, with 446 of those occurring in the last five years.

The district administration has a committee that determines eligibility for government compensation for the families of deceased farmers. Out of the 1,148 cases, 745 were deemed eligible for compensation, while 329 were considered ineligible. The compensation amount is Rs 1 lakh, of which Rs 30,000 is provided upfront, and the remaining Rs 70,000 is deposited into the families' accounts for a period of five years.

"We are following guidelines updated in 2006 for providing the compensation amount of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of farmers who commit suicide," a senior official from the collectorate told PTI

In case of suicide by farmers, the government provides compensation based on fixed criteria.

For reasons like crop loss, inability to repay loan from nationalised banks/co-operative banks or recognised moneylenders, and failure to repay the loan, the kin of farmers will be eligible for a compensation of Rs 1 lakh, out of which Rs 30,000 will be handed over to them, while the remaining amount of Rs 70,000 will be deposited for five years into their accounts, as per the government resolution issued in 2006.

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A total of 54,514.65 hectares of crops belonging to 64,379 farmers in the district were damaged recently due to the flood in June-July this year, a senior official from the agriculture department said.

He said a total of 852 villages were affected due to the flood in the district.

Gondpipri tehsil recorded the highest crop damage on 12,571 hectares of land, he said.

The department has already sent a proposal of Rs 44.63 crore of compensation for crop damages in the district, the official said.

A total of 3,51,091 farmers have taken Re 1 (premium) crop insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the district, including 50,890 farmers who have taken loans and 3,00,201 non-loanee cultivators, according to the agriculture department.

A total of 3,28,155.26 hectares of crop have been insured under the PMFBY in the district, it said.

The state government will pay the premium of Rs 98,59,30,865.33 while the central government will pay the premium of Rs 45,05,15,938.23 to the insurance company on behalf of farmers for crop insurance, the official said.

Loans worth Rs 87489.25 crore were given to 98,177 farmers from district cooperative bank, public sector banks (nationalised) and gramin bank during the kharif and rabi seasons in 2022-23, against the target of Rs 129100 crore given to the banks by the government, a senior official from the district administration said. (PTI)