The Human Rights Forum (HRF) and Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) call upon the AP government to stop neglecting the plight of families of farmers who have committed suicide and to implement G.O 43 in earnest and in a timebound manner. At the moment, implementation of G.O 43, which provides for a financial assistance (Rs 7 lakh) and rehabilitation package to family members of those farmers who have committed suicide, is truly appalling.
A six-member HRF and RSV team visited 14 villages in Nandyal and Kadapa districts on May 28, 29 and met family members of 17 farmers who had committed suicide so as to ascertain reasons for them taking the extreme step and governmental response. These villages are spread across the mandals of Gospadu, Uyyalawada and Allagadda (Nandyal division), Banaganapalli (Dhone division of Nandyal district) and the mandals of Mylavaram, Peddamudium in Jammalamadugu division and Duvuru in Badvel division of Kadapa district. We spoke with the family members of the deceased, their relatives and local residents.
Our enquiries revealed that the deceased were overwhelmingly small and marginal tenant farmers who raised chilli, seed cotton and chickpea in a mostly dry rain-fed area. Lack of institutional credit was a principal reason for the farmers being rendered helpless. Given high input costs, failing or excessive and untimely rains and insufficient price for their output, they were pushed into a cycle of debts they had incurred in the process of cultivation. They ended their lives, either by consuming poison or hanging, after being driven to absolute despair due to successive crop failure and being unable to repay accumulating debts. As such they fall within the purview of G.O 43 and their families must be extended aid by the government.
In all the 17 cases we enquired into, it can clearly be established that there was correlation between farm-related operations and economic distress eventually leading to suicide. As such, there is a clear and compelling case for the families to be extended the relief envisaged under G.O 43. However, this has not happened even, as in some cases, three years after the suicide. We have no reason to believe the situation is any different in the remaining areas of these two districts. Families of farmers who have taken their own lives have in effect been abandoned by the government.
We learnt that the RDO-headed three-member verification and certification committee has not visited a single of these 17 families so as to determine facts as is mandated under G.O 43. In only a few cases has the mandal-level committee, with MRO as chairman, spoken with family members of the deceased. The tahsildars have been telling the families that they are not eligible for the compensation under G.O 43 since they do not possess the Crop Cultivator Rights Card (CCRC). This is a specious argument since in all such cases, proof of tenancy could have been easily established had the administration been serious at all.
This shameful political and administrative neglect has pushed these families, who have already lost their principal provider, to a state of acute distress. They are under extreme financial stress and associated pressures. Not only is the government doing precious little to make farming viable, it has even failed in its minimum administrative duty to provide relief to the families of those who have committed suicide because of an encompassing agrarian crisis. In fact, the implementation of G.O 43 has been pathetically minimal across the State.
We demand that the State government initiate concrete measures to alleviate the situation. As a first step, it must ensure that all cases of reported farmers’ suicides dating back to not just June 2019 but even earlier, are enquired into afresh and justice done to the families without further delay.
HRF and RSV also urge the government to amend G.O. 43 and insert a provision of one-time loan settlement in the financial package so as to mitigate the debt burden of the families. This will help in some measure in ensuring that they are not harassed by those they had borrowed monies from.
Details of farmers families we visited:
Nandyal district & division:
Gospadu mandal:
1. Gayani Narahari (52), Jillela (village), date of death 16-9-2020.
2. Mallireddy Balaramireddy (36), Jillella (v), 9-3-2020.
3. Dudekula Pandlapuram Chinna Hussaini (42), Gosparu (v), 26-10-2020.
Uyyalawada mandal:
4. Bodanam Chinababu (34), R. Papampalle (v), 28-10-2020.
5. Avula Ajiraiah (28), R. Papampalle (v), 8-1-2020.
6. Kammari Mallikarjuna Achari (40), Kondupalli (v), 13-3-2020.
Allagadda mandal:
7. Dalu Hemalatha (woman-43), Peraipalli (v), 26-9-2019.
8. Yadati Laxmi Gurappa (41), Chintagunta (v), 23-10-2020.
9. Yatam Venkatrami Reddy (55), Chintagunta (v), 25-7-2021.
Dhone division:
Banaganapalli mandal:
10. Regati China Venkateswara Reddy (40), Enakandla (v), 8-7-2020.
11. Beeram Venkat Reddy (43), Illurukothapeta (v), 26-5-2020.
Kadapa district, Jammalamadugu division:
Mylavaram mandal:
12. Devarapalli Devadas (52), Talamanchipatnam (v), 25-12-2021.
13. Talari Obulesu (33), Kallutla (v), 9-6-2021.
14. Kota Laxma Reddy (45), China Venturla (v), 29-8-2021.
Pedamudiam mandal:
15. Orugu Subbaramayya (30), Nemmalladinne (v), 26-8-2019.
16. Gajjala Yesaiah (36), J. Jangalapalli (v), 1-1-2020.
Badvel division, Duvvur mandal:
17. Gurappa Narsimhulu (38), M Yerraballi (v), 11-4-2021.
HRF and RSV functionaries who participated in the fact-finding:
B Kondal – RSV State committee member
UG Srinivasulu – HRF AP State president
UM Devendra Babu – HRF State secretary
K Anuradha – HRF State executive committee member
VS Krishna – HRF AP&TS Coordination Committee member
31.05.2022
Kurnool