Will an elected Government fall if the administration admits cases of farmers’ suicide due to debt burden or crop lossIJ This question is being thought over by many in various States, including Odisha, which have been affected by drought and farmers are committing suicide for crop loss and loan burden.
However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, during his recent participation in Rajat Sharma’s Aap Ki Adalat, admitted about the cases of farmers’ suicide in his State and there has been no problem for him to run the Government with the Shiv Sena support.
Fadnavis, however, claimed that his Government has inherited the farmers’ suicide from the previous Congress Government. About 5,000 farmers had committed suicide in Maharashtra last year before Fadnavis took over.
While admitting that farmers are facing problems in irrigation and other facilities, Fadnavis also claimed that his Government has been successful in reducing the rate of farmers’ suicide by taking certain steps.
Contrary to the Maharashtra Government’s stand, the Odisha Government has refused to admit that farmers commit suicide here due to agricultural crisis. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra has claimed that though the Government verified 106 farmer suicide allegations, none of them died due to agricultural crisis.
The cause of their deaths was mostly domestic, liquor consumption, love affairs and not related to crop failure or debt burden, the SRC claimed quoting the reports of district Collectors.
The State Government’s claim appeared contradictory as the administration has already admitted that scanty rainfall and crop loss have occurred in 80 lakh hectares of land, no adequate irrigation facility and lack of proper marketing and cold storage provisions across the State.
The State Government has also admitted that affected farmers had borrowed from private moneylenders to undertake cultivation work. The recent arrest of 100 moneylenders has proved this.
“Although facts indicate that farmers in Odisha committed suicide due to poverty and loan burden, the Government doesn’t accept it, said a retired IAS officer. He, however, stated that if the Government admits crop suicides, they it would be able to win farmers’ confidence and stop Opposition parties’ voices.
However, the officer questioned when the Government never hesitates to admit deaths in calamities like cyclone, flood and lightening; it does not admit deaths due to drought.