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Leader of Opposition in the state legislative assembly on Monday said Maharashtra witnessed seven suicides on an average daily due to nature’s vagaries and the government’s neglect of farmers and their issues.
He made the statement while lashing out at the Chief Minister Eknath shinde-led Maharashtra government over the farmer distress in the state and for providing “inadequate compensation” through the crop insurance scheme to farmers affected by the drought-like situation and unseasonal rainfall in the state.
Speaking in the assembly on the third day of the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur, Wadettiwar demanded the government announce a drought in the state, grant complete loan waivers to farmers and act against insurance companies that have given compensation amounts of Rs 3, 37, 45 and 52 to affected farmers. Speaking at a short discussion in the assembly on the number of issues faced by farmers owing to the unseasonal rains and hail storms, the Congress MLA said it seemed the government was protecting insurance companies “whose survey report was improper and thus farmers were given meagre compensation” and alleged there was a nexus between government officials and insurance companies.
महाराष्ट्रातील शेतकऱ्यांना संपूर्ण कर्जमाफी मिळाल्याशिवाय सरकारला विधान सभेतून पळ काढता येणार नाही.
नागपूर इथे होत असलेल्या हिवाळी अधिवेशनाच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर काँग्रेस पक्षाने ‘हल्ला बोल’ मोर्चा काढून महायुती सरकारला धारेवर धरले.
शेतकऱ्यांना मदत करण्याची या सरकारची ऐपत नाही.… pic.twitter.com/qSM94CQzku
— Vijay Wadettiwar (@VijayWadettiwar) December 11, 2023
Taking a dig at the meagre insurance compensations given to farmers, Wadettiwar said one of the farmers who was compensated with Rs 57 went to a police station seeking protection. Wadetttiwar said the farmer did so as the amount was “so big”, he needed police protection to keep it safe from thieves.
NCP leader Patil said the government was “busy at events and initially it looked like the ‘triple-engine’ government will accelerate but on the contrary, its speed has gone down”. Patil demanded stern action against companies selling bogus seeds and attacked the union government for banning ethanol production from sugar syrup.
“Due to droughts, water scarcity, unseasonal rains, hailstorms, crop insurance companies’ troubles, false promises of guaranteed prices to farmers, export ban, bogus seeds and wrong policies of the government, farmers are facing a big crisis. To get farmers out of this crisis, the government should free them from debt, give benefits to 1021 revenue boards like 40 drought talukas, provide help according to crop categories, give interest-free crop loans, waive off electricity bills, declare a drought in the state, and give crop insurance help,” Wadettiwar said during a brief discussion in the Assembly.
He said of 194 talukas, the government declared only 40 as drought prone. He added that an immediate assistance of at least Rs 50,000 per hectare to affected farmers and at least Rs 1 lakh per hectare for the area under horticulture was required. “On August 24, 2023 we wrote to the government regarding the declaration of drought.
But the government did not wake up. Farmers would have been better off if the government had announced early draft on the lines of Karnataka,” he said.
Wadettiwar said nearly 37 per cent of the country’s farmers commit suicide in Maharashtra. “More than 3,000 farmers have committed suicide in the state. But the government is not serious. Seven farmers are committing suicide in Maharashtra every day. Out of them 2-3 farmers are committing suicide every day in Marathwada. You talk about rules, norms, Government Resolution (GR) when farmers are in trouble.”
Wadettiwar added that GR, rules and norms were ruining the lives of farmers and should be changed.
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