Special package for farmers in suicide-prone districts

The Centre is working on a special package for India’s worst farmer suicide-prone districts with the Water Resources Ministry coming up with a number of drought-proof programmes.

“I will write to chief ministers of perennial drought-hit states to identity the highest farmers suicide reported districts and submit a detailed report”, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti told DH.

“I have already discussed the issue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will discuss the matter with other states, including Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan”, she added. 

Under the package, the ministry will give financial assistance to take up a number of drought-proofing programmes, including revival of water bodies, desilting ponds, wells and lakes, recharging ground water, planting trees on river beds and preparing flood plain protection plan.

Prime Minister Narendra  Modi who held series of meeting with chief ministers of several states on drought and crop loss issue recently, also said the government will come out with a scheme to address the perennial drought-prone areas.

More than 2,000 farmers’ suicide cases were reported due to agrarian reasons in 2015, with the highest number of cases (1,841) in Maharashtra alone.

As many as 116 farmers have committed suicide due to farm crisis in the first three months of 2016, with maximum cases reported in Maharashtra ( 57), followed by Punjab (56) and Telangana (3), said an official.
DH News Service

Madhya Pradesh, which had consistently been recording farmer suicides in varying numbers till 2014, managed to escape this tragic cycle last year as well as this year so far.
Centre credits MP’s better agricultural growth, backed by creation of irrigation infrastructure in water-stressed areas, for the turnaround.

Water-starved Maharashtra faces the brunt for its failure to adapt to suitable cropping patterns, particularly Marathwada, said an official from the Water Resources Ministry