UNENDING HARDSHIPS FOR VIDARBHA FARMERS-Times of India

UNENDING HARDSHIPS FOR VIDARBHA FARMERS-Times of India

UNENDING HARDSHIPS FOR VIDARBHA FARMERS Waiver: Farm activists not enthused Ramu Bhagwat | TNN http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=NGTOI/2009/01/01&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00501&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T Nagpur: “I am completely satisfied with the new Rs 6208 crore relief package for farmers announced by chief minister Ashok Chavan,” Pune University vice chancellor Narendra Jadhav, who as a one-man commission studied the agriculture crisis in the state and presented his report to the state government five months ago, told ToI on Wednesday. Following reports of unending farmer suicides, especially in Vidarbha region even after implantation of the CM-PM packages totalling Rs 5,000 crore, the state had appointed Jadhav, who is also an economist, to study the situation. In his report submitted to the cabinet on July 24, Jadhav was unsparing about the lapses in the implementation of the PM-CM packages and also the Central loan waiver for farmers announced in the last Union budget and upgraded subsequently to Rs 71,000 crore waiver package. “The Chavan government has kept its word. On December 28, at a highlevel meeting held in Nagpur, Chavan gave me a commitment that 19 of the recommendations contained in my report would be considered favourably. I am happy that 13 of my suggestions are being implemented and the remaining six are at an advanced stag e of consideration,” Jadhav said. He refused to comment on the downgrading of his recommendation of waiver to the tune of Rs 50,000 across the board to all farmers to Rs 20,000. Meanwhile, the opposition as well as farmers’ activists have found nothing to enthuse in the Rs 6,208 crore package the CM announced on Tuesday at the fag end of the legislature’s winter session here. “Instead of targeting most distressed farmers of Vidarbha, the new package once again is inclusive for all regions, even areas which deserve no government largesse,” said Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari. “More unfortunately, the package is silent on addressing basic problems like farm infrastructure spending, providing much needed food security to the economically stressed, improving credit flow even as figures suggest total reluctance on the part of the bankers to provide loans to those who joined the list of the eligible courtesy the Central loan waiver,” Tiwari rued. “The official figures are give-away. The chief minister has stated on the floor of the House that that the Central loan waiver in Maharashtra was to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore. When the scheme was announced, Maharashtra was supposed to get Rs 11,680 crore as its share in the waiver pie. This makes it clear that the one-time settlement part was hardly availed of by farmers so the shortfall of Rs 5,000 crore,” explained Tiwari. “Even the education aid is too meagre. Paying for education of children after 12th standard is costly. But the government has agreed to pay for school fee only and not higher education. Also the help promised for critically ill is vague as the government is not ready to accept the most authentic report of March 2006, the first of its kind door-to-door survey in Vidarbha’s six distressed districts which identified nearly a lakh of families with critically ill members. These families hardly get any health care in villages and can’s afford costly medical treatment available in cities. Now the government will undertake a fresh survey for this purpose, Tiwari pointed out. “One of the reasons for BJP retaining power in MP was imaginative scheme like providing Rs 30,000 per family for a farmer’s daughter’s marriage. But Chavan has failed to emulate it. There are 3.3 lakh families with marriageable daughters in the six districts The mass marriage scheme we have has been hit by fraud and privileges class getting the benefits,” Tiwari alleged. “The new package may also meet the same fate as the earlier ones which miserably failed to remove the distress,” he concluded. ====================================================================================================================

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE at 9:21 PM

No money for food security and no direct aid to 5000 farm widows -Rs.6000 crore farmer package is not relief package but cooperative banks rehabilitation package

Nagpur-31st December 2008

In letter to Mahashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has strongly criticised Rs.6208 crore farmers relief package as there is no direct help to dying cotton growers of suicideprone six districts of west vidarbha .Rs.6208 crore so called farmers relief package has been purely rehabilitation and revival package for cooperative banks run by politicians who rule the state government. This package is as ridiculous as earlier one as it failed to give simple food security to 4.24 lacs distress farm families and direct help for daughters marriage of 3.3 lacs farm families in difficulty and despair which is main cause despair and distress ,kishore tiwari informed today.

Provision for free education up to 12^th standard is not enough ,there is problem of higher education in professional colleges due to very higher fees to vidarbha distressed farmers hence it should revised .as free health care is concern the resurvey of illness and then free treatment is not serious effort as new identified patients will be political leaders as they become beneficiaries all other schemes,we need free health care to all farmers in vidarbha ,tiwari demanded.

5000 Vidarbha Farm Widows Completely Ignored

West vidarbha has reported morethan 5000 farm suicides and administration has rejected most of cases for compensation and it is grate need of hour to financial help to these dying widow’s families and it was expected that this Rs.6208 crore package will spare at least Rs.2 crore for the same but babus failed to look this serious problem too,tiwari added.

it is highly suspected that this relief package is not targeted to give any benefit to these dying farmers because main demand to waive of crop loan up to Rs.50,000 irrespective of land holding of dry land farmers under agrarian crisis of west vidarbha has not been covered more over it has been designed to cover the prosperous farmers of west maharashtra as it happened in last Rs.71,000 crore loan waiver ,tiwari allged

‘we welcome the decision of providing health and education security to distress farmers and but food security and rural employment support to all identified critical cases of west vidarbha are till missing in this package as no relief is there in new relief package and this will keep these dying farm community out of relief net. We will move to high court against this bogus relief packages which are turning to be hoax and eyewash’ Kishor Tiwari informed today.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

For VIDARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMITI

KISHORE TIWARI

PRESIDENT

kishortiwari@gmail.com

contact-09422108846

Govt.of maharshta spends zero rupees on minority in this fiscal year-mumbaimirror reports

Govt.of maharshta spends zero rupees on minority in this fiscal year

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/200812232008122302320951714836734/Zero#ftr2

Zero

That's what the Deshmukh administration spent on Minority Affairs out of the allocated Rs 167 crore. Other departments too spent only an average of 34 per cent of their funds in eight months

Deshmukh has left Ashok Chavan with the tough task of utilising the remaining 66% funds in less than 4 months Looks like development schemes in the state took a back seat in the last eight months. In the current financial year, the Democratic Front government spent just 34 per cent of the Rs 29,000 crore annual plan funds, leaving Chief Minister Ashok Chavan with the rather difficult job of utilising the remaining 66 per cent in less than four months. Else, the funds will lapse. Department-wise figures of government spending in the financial year 2008-09, available with this newspaper, reveal some shocking facts. The Minorities Development Department, the brainchild of former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, failed to utilise a single rupee of the allocated Rs 167 crore until December 15. Out of the 26 government departments, only the Food & Civil Supplies department utilised 100 per cent of the allocated funds. The department, held by NCP man Sunil Tatkare until December 7, has now been given to minister Ramesh Bang. The School Education department, which was under former Minister Vasant Purke, has utilised 72 per cent of the funds allocated to it. Now, Purke has been dropped from the ministry. The Home Department, which was with R R Patil until December 1, could use only 24 per cent of the Rs 44 crore allocated to it. Departments such as Environment, Medical Education, Technical Education, Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Revenue & Forests, Law & Judiciary, Housing and Employment & Self Employment have not been able to utilise more than 10 per cent of their funds. The Minorities Development Department (0 per cent) and Housing Department (6.4 per cent), which were with were with Deshmukh, miserably failed to utilise their funds. If utilisation of funds in departments handled by Congress and NCP ministers is compared, the NCP men are slightly ahead of their Congress counterparts. Departments like PWD (32 per cent funds utilised), Water Resources (38 per cent), Rural Development (34 per cent), Finance & Planning (10 per cent), Tribal Development (31 per cent) and Water Supply (47 per cent) are with the NCP. Under Congress control, the figures are General Administration Department (72 per cent funds utilised), Urban Development Department (36 per cent), Housing (6.4 per cent), Industry (75 per cent), Revenue & Forests (11 per cent), Agriculture & PDF (25 per cent), Law & Judiciary (0 per cent), Social Justice (41 per cent), Co-operation (30 per cent) and Women & Child Welfare (56 per cent). If the overall figures are compared, most of the departments have not been able to spend more than 34 per cent of the allocation. Now, they have only three-and-a-half months left to spend the rest. Government officials fear that most of departments will now go on a spending spree, compromising the overall quality of development works. Many departments have been known to submit their bills on March 31, the last day of the financial year, to show that they have utilised their funds.

KISHORE TIWARI--An Encyclopaedia on information on suicides in Vidarbha-Times Of India

KISHORE TIWARI--An Encyclopaedia on information on suicides in Vidarbha-Times Of India

KISHORE TIWARI--An Encyclopaedia on information on suicides in Vidarbha
Publication: Times Of India -Date: Dec 23, 2008-

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=TkdUT0kvMjAwOC8xMi8yMyNQYzAwMjEx&Mode= HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

KISHORE TIWARI, a mechanical engineer-turned-farm activist, has been working for farmers’ cause in the entire suicide belt of Vidarbha for the past ten years. Tiwari is regarded as an encyclopaedia on information on suicides in Vidarbha. His NGO, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, is the lone organisation in the region which has documentation of each and every farmer who has committed suicides in the last ten years beginning from the first suicide of Ramdas Chinaya Ambarwar, whose widow Saraswati has still not got any compensation from the government. When Kalavati Bandurkar, who was visited by Rahul Gandhi in July, got huge compensation, it was a triumph for Tiwari.
========================================================

please help more than 5000 dying vidarbha farm widows
contact-kishortiwari@gmail.com

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE at 10:45 PM

Vidarbha Agrarian crisis-Tale of 2 Kalawatis

Vidarbha Agrarian crisis-Tale of 2 Kalawatis

PrintClose Tale of 2 Kalawatis Krishna Kumar Yavatmal (Maharashtra), December 21, 2008 One attained national fame after Rahul Gandhi held forth on her at the debate on the confidence motion. The other, like the celebrity Kalawati before her discovery by the heir apparent, continues to wallow in poverty, unheralded and ignored by the development gravy train. Until a few months back, no one wanted to step into Kalawati Bandurkar’s chappals. The mother of nine — seven girls and two boys — lived in a thatched hut on encroached land. She was her family’s only breadwinner after her husband’s suicide four years back. That was until Rahul Gandhi landed at her doorstep. The heir apparent named Kalawati in a speech extolling the Indo- US nuclear deal — which was then still in the works — and how it would help people like Kalawati. Overnight, the woman turned into a celebrity at Pandharkawada. Applications and files bearing her name began to move swiftly in the panchayat samiti office without her running around to push them anymore. “ My life has changed a lot, and for the better. He just came and talked to me for 15 minutes, and nothing has been the same ever since,” she says. Kalawati got an electricity connection within a month of Rahul’s speech ( it didn’t have to wait for the nuclear deal). A tap water connection has also been fitted outside her door so that she and her family don’t have to travel far to fetch water. “ I had received no compensation even four years after my husband Purshottam’s suicide. But after his visit, I got Rs 3 lakh as compensation, out of which I have already paid Rs 1 lakh to my husband’s creditors. “ We had also been struggling to get below poverty line and caste certificates for more than two years. But now, all I have to do is tell my name, and my work is done,” she says. Indeed, Kalawati has even received some out- of- turn benefits, with the gram panchayat promptly transferring the encroached land on which she lives in her name. Private donors have made a beeline to be of help to her. Someone replaced her thatched roof with a tin shed; another donated her a sewing machine. A third has gifted her daughters a bicycle they can ride to school. Kishore Tiwari, president of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan, has even donated her a buffalo. But is Kalawati Bandurkar’s metamorphosis symbolic of Rahul’s impact on people’s lives, or simply a totemic change? The answer lies a few feet away, inside the door- less, window- less and wall- less house of the other Kalawati. Four bamboo sticks and a couple of sheets overhead form the hovel of Kalawati Koichde, a senior citizen, who lives with and supports her paralysed 70- yearold husband, Tamba Koichde. Their prized possession is a ragtag charpoy. “ Our walls fell away a couple of years ago. But no one from the panchayat samiti or the collectorate office has bothered to help us or even visit us,” she says. “ My husband’s legs are paralysed and he can’t even see properly. So it is me who fends for both of us.” Her married son lives nearby. “ We do get to eat and sleep at his place, but that is happening only because I work in the fields every day and bring in money,” she claims. Her husband nods in agreement. “ We want Rahul Gandhi to visit our house too. Only then will we get even basic facilities,” he says. Their life is indeed symbolic of the village. “ Only one family has benefited from Rahul’s visit, when more than half the villagers live below the poverty line,” says Purshottam Tekam, a resident. “ We wanted Rahul to adopt the whole village.” Even the younger Kalawati agrees. “ I am taunted when I go to the fields to work. They ask me why I should work when I have a lot of money,” she says. “ Some allege I must have narrated a sob story to Rahul, insinuating that I did not deserve what has come my way.” That’s the reality Rahul never discovered during his whistlestop break at this nondescript village. His Discovery of India remains incomplete. Courtesy: Mail Today PrintClose URL for this article : http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/content_mail.php?option=com_content&name=print&id=23213 @ Copyright 2008 India Today Group.

Seven debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI

Seven debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha

Created on : 12/19/2008 6:39:46 PM (NORMAL )

Nagpur, Dec 19 (UNI) As many seven debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in the last 72 hours in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, activists said today.

According to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working among farmers in the region, the farmers who ended their lives included two from Amravati district and one each from Wardha, Yavatmal, Akola, Buldhana and Chandrapur districts.

The state government's official figure of suicides in the six worst affected districts was 1,269, VJAS press release said. The government's figure for suicides in the last 5 years was 5,157, it said.

VJAS has demanded that the recommendations of the committee headed by Pune University Vice Chancellor Dr Narendra Jadhav should be implemented forthwith to provide succour to farmers in Vidarbha. The recommendations included loan waiver of Rs 50,000 across the board for all farmers in the region, it added.

UNI AB OBB RL AS1830

Seven debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI

Seven debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI

Seven debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI

India Nagpur | Friday, Dec 19 2008 IST


As many seven debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in the last 72 hours in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, activists said today.

According to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working among farmers in the region, the farmers who ended their lives included two from Amravati district and one each from Wardha, Yavatmal, Akola, Buldhana and Chandrapur districts.

The state government's official figure of suicides in the six worst affected districts was 1,269, VJAS press release said. The government's figure for suicides in the last 5 years was 5,157, it said.

VJAS has demanded that the recommendations of the committee headed by Pune University Vice Chancellor Dr Narendra Jadhav should be implemented forthwith to provide succour to farmers in Vidarbha. The recommendations included loan waiver of Rs 50,000 across the board for all farmers in the region, it added.

-- (UNI) -- 19BY22.xml

vidarbha farmers suicides-truth of relief packages

vidarbha farmers suicides tops in india

Monday, December 15, 2008

State tops national graph in farmers’ suicides -1,520 In Vidarbha -TIMES NEWS NETWORK

In 2007, 4,238 Ryots Ended Life In State, 1,520 In Vidarbha

Yavatmal: The Union home ministry’s website displays the data of farmers’ suicides in 2007 and a close look into the available version indicates that Maharashtra tops the entire country with regard to the suicide of distressed farmers. According to the website, 16,632 farmers ended their lives in 2007 and Maharashtra had the highest figure of 4,238 of whom 1,520 are reported from Vidarbha region alone.
As a matter of fact, the Central government has granted a huge sum of Rs 3,750 crore in the form of the Prime Minister’s Special Package and the state government granted Rs 1,075 crore as Chief Minister’s package for the rehabilitation of the distressed farmers of Vidarbha. Now the billion dollar question is: Where had the fund from the special packages gone? And who is still responsible for unabated suicide?
A leading farm activist Kishor Tiwari, speaking to TOI, said that on an average 4,000 farmers committed suicide in last four years and 70% of these suicides have been reported from Vidarbha region alone.
While ridiculing the tall claim of the state government about the fall in suicides after the implementation of the special packages, the information of suicide figure given by a government agency —Vasantrao Naik Swawalamban Mission — shows an upward trend (in six worst-hit Vidarbha districts) in 2008 than in 2007 and the suicide figure from 2001 till December 10, 2008 is 5,142.
The government has constituted eight inquiry commissions/committees since 2004 and the reports have also been submitted from time to time. According to these reports, over 10 lakh farmers are distressed. Over one lakh families are deprived of proper health care facilities while 3.60 lakh families are facing the financial burden to meet the expenditure of their daughters’ marriage. Over 80% farmers, who are denied of the bank loan being defaulters, are forced to knock on the doors of the unscrupulous private money lenders and their greedy touts for meeting their urgent financial needs.
Tiwari urged the government to ensure “food, health and education security” to poor farmers in the region so that they can lead a dignified life as envisaged under the Constitution of India.
He demanded that the state should provide financial assistance to the poor and needy farmers for their daughters’ marriage and also ensure them of the facility for fresh crop loan at subsidised interest rate.
The Union home ministry’s website also shows an upward trend in the crime rate across the country vis-a-vis farmers’ suicide in the state. The current trend is that the suicide wave is speedily moving from western Vidarbha to eastern Vidarbha districts which may take an alarming situation in the days to come.
Tiwari further urged the chief minister Ashok Chavan to look into the matter seriously and come out with an effective action plan to curb it during the current winter session of the State Legislative Assembly in Nagpur.

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National
Maharashtra tops the list of farmers' suicides

New Delhi (PTI): Fourty-six farmers commit suicide every day in this country even as packages were rolled out in a bid to bailout the debt-ridden community from crisis.

A whopping 16,632 cases of suicides by farmers, including 2,369 women were reported across the country last year with Maharashtra retaining the dubious distinction of having the largest number of such incidents despite a slump in figures.

Farmers' suicide constituted 14.4 per cent of the total 1,22,637 suicides in the country in 2007, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said in its latest report, Accidental Deaths and Suicide Report -- 2007'.

In 2006, the figures were 17,060 and since 1997 there were 1,82,936 cases of farmers' suicide in the country.

In a grim reminder of the appalling conditions of the farmers in this agriculture dominated country, the NCRB said besides Maharashtra, six other states have recorded over 1,000 cases of farmers' suicides each in 2007.

Maharashtra, where the Central Government pitched in with a special package, reported 4,238 suicides last year, a decline of 215 from 2006, it said.

Karnataka (2,135), Andhra Pradesh (1,797), Chhattisgarh (1,593), Madhya Pradesh (1,263), Kerala (1,263) and West Bengal (1,102) followed Maharashtra in the list.

These states were in the top-seven list in 2006 too. While Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh showed a decline in the number of farmers' suicide last year compared to 2006, such cases witnessed an increase in Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal.

9 debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI REPORTS

India

9 debt-ridden farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha

Nagpur Friday, Dec 12 2008 IST

As many as nine debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra
in the last 72 hours, activists said today.
According to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working among farmers in the region, those who ended their lives included five from Yavatmal district, two from Buldhana district and one each from Bhandara and Amravati districts.
The condition of the distressed farmers in the region had aggravated because of the failure of the crop due to bad weather, a VJAS release said here. The government must start buying cotton at Rs 3,000 per quintal across the board to provide succour to the cultivators, it added.
-- (UNI) -- 12BY1.xml

IPS officers' wives turn samaritans to vidarbha farmers' widows

IPS officers' wives turn samaritans to vidarbha farmers' widows

IPS officers' wives turn samaritans to farmers' widows

Yavatmal, Maharashtra, Nov 29 : The widows of debt-ridden farmers in Vidarbha region have finally found solace in the form of the wives of IPS officers of Maharashtra cadre.

The IPS Officers' Wives Association (IOWA) have come out to help these women whose husbands, all farmers, had committed suicide, being unable to repay the loans.

The IOWA has sent a consignment of 200 blankets and 80 quintals of rice to these widows in Yavatmal district earlier this week, according to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working for farmers in the region.

The association, led by Vandana Roy, wife of Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) A N Roy, despatched the material by train from Mumbai, a VJAS press release said.

The material was unloaded at Badnera railway station and sent by road to various villages in Pandharkawada and Ghatanji tehsils of the district, the release added.

The association has also proposed to send utensils, sewing machines and computers to these women, VJAS said, adding that Mrs Roy has also planned to extend financial assistance for the education and marriage of their daughters.

A delegation of the association planned to visit the suicide belt of Vidarbha shortly, to examine ways of giving further assistance to the bereaved families, the release stated.

--- UNI

Mumbai-based north Indian offers help for Vidarbha widows-Times of India

PrinteTd from

Mumbai-based north Indian offers help for Vidarbha widows 20 Nov 2008, 0447 hrs IST, TNN NAGPUR: Even as a parochial party in the state has managed to set the tone for a political agenda against migrants, especially north Indians, a Mumbai-based Hindi speaking businessman has taken a vow to come to the rescue of widows of farmers who committed suicide in Vidarbha. "While two Indians figure in the latest list of world's top 20 richest persons, it is unfortunate that millions of countrymen do not have access to two square meals a day. But instead of focusing on such sensitive issues, some political leaders are engaged in divisive politics and pitting one community against another," said Tulsising Rajput. Owner of several shopping malls in Mumbai suburbs, Rajput on Wednesday offered to extend financial aid to widows of the farmers in Vidarbha. Rajput who has joined hands with Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti recently floated Akhil Bharatiya Jan Andolan Samiti to fight for the farmers' cause. Speaking chaste Marathi, Rajput addressed reporters here and said he would enlist the support of north Indians and non-Marathi speaking communities. "On November 29 we will organise a 'dharna satyagrah' at Azad Maidan in Mumbai to highlight the miserable condition of farmers' widows in Vidarbha," said Rajput. VJAS president Kishore Tiwari said a large number of widows will travel to Mumbai to participate in the agitation. As many as 5,000 farmers have committed suicide during the last one decade mainly because of the anti-farmer policies of the government, Tiwari alleged. "We are hoping that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is scheduled to visit Mumbai on that day, will spare some moments for us and hear the widows' plight," said Rajput. "Each of the widow participating in the agitation will be given Rs 10,000 as aid. We are also planning to send Rs 500 per month through money order to each of the distressed families in Vidarbha," said Rajput. Tiwari said the main demand is implementation of the Narendra Jadhav committee recommendations. The committee report was placed before the state cabinet in July, but till date no action has been taken on it, Tiwari alleged. The report has recommended food security, easy credit flow and access to affordable healthcare system as measures to address the distress in Vidarbha and to check suicide among farmers.

4,850 Vidarbha farmer suicides in last four years: VJAS

4,850 Vidarbha farmer suicides in last four years: VJAS

	The Times of India -Breaking news, views. reviews, cricket from across India

4,850 Vidarbha farmer suicides in last four years: VJAS 31 Oct 2008, 1749 hrs IST,PTI

NAGPUR: As many as 4,850 farmers have committed suicide during the four-year tenure of the Congress-NCP Democratic Front (DF) government in Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008, though the trend is on the decline, an NGO said today. From 456 farmer suicides in 2004 to 660 in 2005 which grew to 1,886 in 2006, the number of suicides has gone down to 1,213 in 2007 and further dropped to 635 in 2008, Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti President Kishore Tiwari said in a release here. Admitting that suicidal tendencies among farmers in the Vidarbha region was fast reducing, Tiwari said that mounting debts, crop failure and harassment from private money lenders had multiplied the problems of farmers in the region. Meanwhile, three farmers committed suicide during Diwali. They were identified as Arvind Madhavrao Deshmukh (Lakhanwadi, Amravati), Narendra Gulabrao Panchre (Kohla, Nagpur) and Atul Shriram Kale (Kandhli, Wardha), the release said.

Three more farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI Reports

Monday, October 27, 2008

Three more farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha-UNI Reports

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Three more farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha

Nagpur, Oct 27 : Three more debt-ridden farmers committed suicide on 'Dhanteras' day in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, activists said today.

The farmers, who ended their lives yesterday, were from Yavatmal, Bhandara and Amravati districts, according to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation working among farmers in the region, The number of farmers, who have taken the extreme step during the year, has touched 628, a VJAS release said.

The distressed farmers in the region were having a black Diwali because of the widespread damage to standing crops, especially cotton and soyabean, due to the advent of pests, the release said.

Only a day before, six debt-ridden farmers in the region ended their lives, it added.
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HIGH COURT TOOK SERIOUS NOTE OF CONTINUED FARMERS SUICIDES AND TO FILE DETAILED AFFIDAVIT ON THE SCHEME OF FARMERS LOAN WAIVER

VIDARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMITI

11, Trisaran Society, In front of Somalwar School, Khamla, Nagpur – 440 025

Tel No. (0712) 2282457 Mob No. 9422108846 / 9371137653 / 9373121947

=====================================================

PRESS NOTE URGENT / NEWS FLASH

PIL ON THE ISSUE OF FARMERS SUICIDES :

HIGH COURT ORDERED GOVT. TO FILE DETAILED AFFIDAVIT ON THE SCHEME OF FARMERS LOAN WAIVER OF RS. 71,000 CRORES AS HOW FAR IT IS BENEFITED TO THE VIDARBHA FARMERS IN DISTRESS AND ALSO ORDER TO TABLE DR. NARENDRA JADHAV COMMITTEE REPORT REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF PACKAGE SCHEMES FOR FARMERS IN CRISIS :

HIGH COURT TOOK SERIOUS NOTE OF CONTINUED FARMERS SUICIDES AND PLIGHT OF POOR FARMERS IN VIDARBHA AND ASKED STATE GOVT. TO FURNISH EVERY DETAILS WITHIN FOUR WEEKS.

Nagpur, 20^TH October, 2008.

Taking the serious cognizance of continued farmers suicides and failure of various packages announced for the crisis ridden Vidarbha Farmers, the Division Bench of Bombay High Court at Nagpur expressed great concern about the matter & approach of the State Govt. in tackling the issue and asked to furnish every details of the farmers loan waiver scheme involving Rs. 71,000 Crores announced by Central Government and its benefit to the poor farmers in crisis ridden farmers in six districts of Vidarbha region and further also asked to furnish copy of report submitted by Dr. Narendra Jadhav Committee on package schemes and its implementation within four weeks.

Division Bench headed by Justice Dilip Sinha and Justice A.P. Bhangale at Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court while hearing the Public Interest Litigation filed by Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, President, Shri Kishore Tiwari, today expressed its great concern on the entire crisis and recorded that there was much hue & cry about the mismanagement of the various packages, hence the respondent State has appointed a one man Committee consisting of Dr. Narendra Jadhav – The Vice Chancellor, Pune University, Pune to verify that the packages are properly executed and to suggest the remedial measures for better implementation of the packages. The petitioner – Sh. Kishore Tiwari himself appeared before the Commission and extended his co-operation by submitting various suggestions and data. The Commission has submitted his report to the respondent State on 17.07.08, but according to the petitioner – Sh. Kishore Tiwari no action is initiated pursuant to said report and for proper assistance to the Hon'ble Court in the instant matter the presence of above report on record is also necessary. Hence ordered the respondent State and Union Government to furnish the copy of the said report.

During the course of today hearing, it is pointed out by the Counsel for Petitioner Adv. Sh. Firdos Mirza that –

1) That Hon'ble Court was pleased to entertain the instant petition in the larger public interest considering the reports regarding suicides committed by the cotton growing farmers in the western Vidarbha and the agrarian crisis. Pursuant to the cognizance taken by this Hon'ble Court, from time to time the respondents have declared various packages and placed their details before this Hon'ble Court, still the pace of suicides is unaffected.

2) That in earlier petition before the Hon'ble Divisional Bench of this Hon'ble Court at Bombay the respondent State has submitted that the principal amount to be rescheduled in respect of the loan outstanding against the farmers is of Rs.203 crores and the interest to be written off is Rs.61 crores. Later on by filing affidavit dated 3.9.07 the respondent State submitted that towards interest waiver it has paid Rs.825 crores from P.M. packages and Rs.240 crores from State package and the total overdue as on 30.6.06 was Rs.1407 crores.

3) That recently the Central Government has announced the complete loan waiver amounting to Rs.71000 crores. As mentioned above already Rs.1065 crores were paid by the Government to the Banks towards interest waiver out of the total amount of Rs.1407 crores, hence now the new quantum of the amount disbursed towards loan waivers of the farmers raises questions about its authenticity in the background of the fact that the amount is coming from the pocket of the tax payer.

4) That in compliance with the High Court Order dated 11.07.06, 7.8.06 and 6.8.07 as made a Web site operational pertaining to the relief packages, measures and programs formulated by the State for the benefit of the farmers specially the suicide affected area. The petitioner went through the contents of this Web site, but could not found the details of the beneficiaries and the exact amount paid to each Bank, hence the application has been filed for necessary directions to the respondent for placing the record and details of the loan weavers before this Hon'ble Court.

5) That there was much hue & cry about the mismanagement of the various packages, hence the respondent State has appointed a one man Committee consisting of Dr. Narendra Jadhav – The Vice Chancellor, Pune University, Pune to verify that the packages are properly executed and to suggest the remedial measures for better implementation of the packages. The petitioner himself appeared before the Commission and extended his co-operation by submitting various suggestions and data. The suggestions made by Petitioner – Sh. Kishore Tiwari before the said committee were very much appreciated by the said Dr. Narendra Jadhav Commission which recommended Food Security to 4,42,000 farmers family in extreme distress and recommended State to supply 25 Kgs foodgrains at subsidies rate at par with BPL and also recommended Cashless Health Card to 92,321 families in which serious illness problem have been found by the survey conducted by State Govt. The Petitioner pointed out that even though the commission has submitted his report to the respondent State on 17.07.08, but no action is initiated pursuant to said report. So for proper assistance to this Hon'ble Court in the instant matter, the presence of above report on record is also necessary. Hence Court Order its submission within four weeks.

It may be recalled that the said Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Petitioner Sh. Kishore Tiwari in the year 2005. Earlier by its Order dated 13^th June 2006, due to negligent & casual approach of the State & its bureaucrats to comply with the earlier orders passed by the High-Court, the Division Bench of High Court had imposed cost of Rs. 1,000/- each to be recovered from the Chief Secretary & 12 Other Top I.A.S. Bureaucrats officials of the rank of Principal Secretary, Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners and Director General of Police to be paid within 2 weeks, otherwise the reply - affidavit would not be considered the order of imposition of cost of Rs.1000/- each was modified after the prayer made by the Advocate General of Maharashtra State, who had to rush Nagpur for pleading before the Court in this Writ Petition.

The Public Interest Litigation ¨Criminal Writ Petition was filed by Shri Kishore Tiwari with the wide prayers in the interest of Cotton Cultivating Farmers community at large. The prayers are as under that –

i) the Hon'ble High Court to take cognizance of the plight of poor Farmers who were compelled to commit suicide due to wrongful policies of the State,

ii) to order necessary probe / enquiry in the role of State Officers in promoting B.T. Cotton which resulted in the failure of crop,

iii) to direct investigation through C.B.I., Vigilance Commission, C.I.D. or any other independent agency in the matter of sale of bogus and duplicate B.T. Cotton seeds by the companies and involvement of the officials of the State in inducing the poor farmers for cultivating the B.T. Cotton,

iv) to order prosecution of the guilty officials for the offences punishable under Section 306, 409, 420 & 120 (B) of Indian Penal Code and their overacts causing series of suicides of farmers,

v) to direct the State to compensate the families of the farmers who have compelled to commit suicide by the negligence of the State by providing Rs. 5,00,000/- each without any disparity or choose & pick policy,

vi) to direct the State to take immediate measures for granting financial assistance to the Cotton Growing Farmers & to take further steps to protect the farmers from the coercive recovery at the hands of banks & private money lenders,

vii) to direct the State to place Action Taken Report on the recommendations of various Committees,

viii) to direct the State to take appropriate action against the B.T. Cotton Seeds companies for compensating the poor farmers died untimely &

ix) other reliefs which High Court may find suitable in the facts and circumstances.

The petition will be taken up for further hearing after 4 weeks at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court. Advocate Firdos Mirza & Advocate Vinod Tiwari appeared for the petitioner and State was represented by Additional Govt. Pleader and APP Smt. Bharati Dangre, whereas Central Government was represented by Adv. Sh. Shyam Ahirkar.

Kindly arrange to release this important news in your esteemed daily.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Santosh Netam,

Media Incharge

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti

Nagpur.