Odisha Minister denies farmers suicide to crop failure,Opposition stage walk out in protest
18 March, Bhubaneswar
Odisha Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy Saturday denied that all the five farmers who have committed suicide in the state in the current year was related to loan burden or crop failure as alleged by the Opposition and the family members of the deceased farmers.
The Opposition Congress and the BJP members however staged a noisy walk out after Mr Maharathy rejected their demand for a house committee to probe into the suicide of the farmers in the state Replying to a motion moved by the Opposition Congress in the Odisha Assembly, Mr Maharathy said during the current year the state government has received the allegation of suicide committed by five farmers.
Quoting the report submitted jointly by the Collectors and Superintendents of Police of district concerned, the Minister said Hadu Bagarti of Kendapalli village in Baragarh district, Sibaprasad Bharta of Sanamasingha village in Nabarangpur District, T Bulureddy of Chikarada village in Ganjam District and Sudam Khuntia of Raghunathpur village in Balasore district have committed suicide for reasons not related to agriculture.
The Minister said though the exact cause of the suicide of Sibaprasad Bharta was not yet clear but it was not for agricultural loan burden, he said. Maharathy said similarly the inquiry committee could not reach at a conclusion that the suicide of Sudam Khuntia of Balasore was related to agriculture.
The Minister rejected the demand of the opposition to constitute a House Committee to probe the farmers suicide cases stating there was no need for it.
Stating that he was deeply hurt by the suicide of farmers, the Minister said the government is committed to all round development of farmers. The agriculture production in the state has increased from 55 lakh ton in 2000-01 to 118 lakh ton in 2014-15 and per cent of poverty has reduced from 57.20 per cent in 2004-05 to 32.59 per cent in 2011-12 due to the initiatives taken by the government. The Minister said the government is considering to bring all the farmers under the insurance cover.
Maharathy said two Agricultural officers have been placed under suspension for their alleged role in the tractor subsidy case and FIR has been lodged against them. A committee under the Chairmaship of Agriculture Secretary has been formed to inquire into scam.
He said as per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 1,33,623 persons including 12,602 farmers have committed suicide in the country in 2015. As many as 4087 persons including 50 persons involved in agriculture have committed suicide in Odisha during the period.
The Minister informed the house that as per the NCRB report 4,291 persons in Maharashtra, 1,569 in Karnataka, 1,400 in Telengana, 1,290 in Madhya Pradesh, 954 in Chhatisgarh, 916 in Andhra Pradesh and 606 in Tamilnadu have committed suicide during the period. The persons have committed suicide mainly for loan burden, insolvency, family feud, crop loss, illness or drug consumption.