JOIN USMinister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday said the government was baffled by the increasing number of farmer suicides in the State and was studying the reasons behind each death.
Replying to a discussion on the farmers’ suicides in the legislative council, the minister said he has sought case-wise details of the incidents of farmers taking the extreme step.
Gowda said the department could not understand why so many farmers were taking their lives, and a committee had been set up at the district level headed by the deputy commissioners, who had been directed to see into the reasons behind the suicides.
However, one of the likely reasons for the suicides was the non-availability of loans. In addition, non-enforcement of existing laws, and the lack of awareness about the same had compounded the matter.
Cases bookedThe Karnataka Moneylender’s Act, 1961, and the Karnataka Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act have not been effectively enforced. It has now become inevitable for the government to start acting tough against unauthorised money lenders. So far, 435 cases have been booked against money lenders and 287 of them have been arrested.
Pinning the blame on National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) for downsizing the loan component from 45 pc to 22 per cent, he said this has resulted in an additional burden of Rs 150 crore on the State government. “If Nabard does not increase the rate of refinance, then it will indirectly lead to more suicides,” he said.
A delegation would be taken to Delhi to appeal to the Centre to increase the loan component, and also to release funds under SDRF/NDRF for the crops damaged by unseasonal rain in April and May.
WalkoutUnhappy with the minister’s response, the Opposition BJP staged a walkout. Prior to that, leader of the Opposition K S Eshwarappa slammed the Cabinet for its obliviousness pertaining to the suicides.