Nashik Farmer Families Receive Self-Rebuilding Assistance from Maharashtra Government

Respite for families of farmers who suffered loss of a farmer due to debt and other reasons as the government lends a helping hand in rebuilding and helping the families better their lives.

The state government of Maharashtra offers some assistance to the families of farmers who kill themselves due to financial difficulties brought on by a failed crop, bad weather, low market prices for agricultural products, large loans, and pressure from banks to retrieve as much, but their situation is however not improved.

One lakh rupees in aid is granted by the government, of which Rs 30,000 is given in cash and Rs. 70,000 is supplied as a fixed deposit together in their banks that is only accessible after five years of deposition.

The issue with the victim's loans, whether they were from any kind of institution or not, does not cease to exist after their demise. According to a high ranking official from the divisional commission, there is currently no option for remission of any form of loan, thus it is crucial to identify alternate ways to assist families that are left without a breadwinner and are caught up in tragedy.

Radhakrishna Game, the divisional commissioner, initiated "Ubhari", which is a campaign to enable families of deceased farmers by making the necessary arrangements so they would be able to support themselves.

Farmers' families are enrolled in the program's "priority family" programme, which guarantees they receive the saffron ration card that allows them to receive food at reduced prices through the public distribution system and also qualifies them for Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana's free "medical" treatment.

11.2% of suicides in India are committed by farmers. Farmers' suicides have been attributed to a variety of contradictory factors by activists and academics, including anti-farmer laws, heavy debt loads, bad government policies, malpractice in the allocation of subsidies, crop failure, mental health concerns, personal problems, and familial troubles.

Farmer suicides in India refers to the national catastrophe of farmers committing suicide since the 1970s, due to their inability to repay loans mostly taken from private landlords and banks. NCRB data shows that the incidence of farmer suicides has remained high in the 6 years between 2014 and 2020. 5,600 farmers committed suicide in 2014, and 5,500 farmers committed suicide in 2020. If one adds agri-labourers to the 2020 number, the number of suicides rises to over 10,600.