Farmer suicides are rising alarmingly in Palnadu district. A joint fact-finding team of the Human Rights Forum (HRF) and Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) visited seven villages in three mandals of Gurazala division in the region on July 29 and 30 and met families of nine farmers who had died by suicide in recent years. The team gathered detailed information on the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the government’s response.
Our fact-finding revealed that G.O. 43, meant to provide relief and rehabilitation to families of farmers who took their own lives, remains largely unimplemented. Of the nine families we visited, only one had received financial assistance under the G.O. In several cases, even after official recognition that the deaths were genuine farmer suicides caused due to agrarian reasons as laid out in G.O. 43, the families have received no compensation or support at all.
Tenant farming in Palnadu has surged in recent years, with both numbers and lease rates rising steeply, often reaching Rs 25,000 per acre. Farmers are cultivating cotton, chilli, paddy and red gram, but erratic weather – either excessive rain or drought – and recurring pest attacks have resulted in repeated crop failures. Crushed by huge losses and unable to withstand the pressure of mounting debts, many have been driven to suicide.
In Veldurthi mandal, for instance, borewells yield water only beyond a depth of 1,000 feet. Farmers are forced to spend lakhs and fall into debt traps, often for borewells that fail. Additionally, severe pest attacks in recent years has led to decline in chilli yields. On top of this, market prices have collapsed, leaving farmers without any viable returns. The existing crop insurance scheme is deeply flawed and has routinely failed to compensate farmers for crop loss. Moreover, it completely excludes tenant farmers.
The implementation of G.O. 43 is abysmal. Of the nine families we met, only one has received the Rs 7 lakh ex gratia. In several cases, even after the three-member committee verified the suicides as farm-related and due to attendant distress, no compensation has been disbursed to date. However, none of the divisional-level three-member verification committee (RDO, DSP, ADA) has personally visited the affected families even though G.O. 43 clearly mandates that the RDO-led committee visit the village, gather details and forward proposal to the Collector within a week of the suicide.
Even at the mandal-level, the three-member committee (tahsildar, agriculture officer, sub-inspector) has failed to visit the families. Officials down the line like the revenue inspectors and village revenue officers are filing perfunctory and superficial reports without even meeting family members of the deceased. The negligence is glaring in the case of an Adivasi tenant farmer (Jatawath Balu Naik of Srirampuram Thanda, Veldurthi mandal) who took his own life on 11-01-2024. No mandal-level official has bothered to go to his home. When we visited, his wife was away at daily wage work having left behind their infant in a cradle. This was a deeply distressing image to our team. The family faces food insecurity and the children’s education is at risk.
We also found that disbursal of financial assistance is deeply politicised. Several families told us that they were denied compensation because they were not aligned with the ruling party. The plight of widows in these families is even more distressing – not a single one among the eight has received widow pension.
Right to Information (RTI) data and crime investigation records reveal over 400 farmer suicides in Palnadu district over the past decade. This is a grim indicator of the region’s deepening agrarian crisis. When our team inquired about when the pending ex gratia amounts would be disbursed, officials had no answers.
The farm crisis extends beyond Palnadu with similar conditions prevailing across Andhra Pradesh. While farmer organisations and police records confirm over 300 farmers suicides under the current government, the State has reported only 39 cases in the Assembly. This is a glaring case of deliberate underreporting.
Without further delay, the families, who are already devastated by loss, must receive the compensation and rehabilitation support they are rightfully owed.
Our Demands:
- The government must urgently awaken from its apathy, implement G.O. 43 sincerely and ensure comprehensive financial aid and rehabilitation for the families of farmers who have committed suicide.
- The government must urgently adopt a suicide prevention strategy, including a State-wide helpline, based on a comprehensive study of high-risk suicide regions like Rayalaseema and the districts of Palnadu and Prakasam.
- The RDO-headed divisional-level three-member verification committee must immediately visit affected families, complete the inquiry, and ensure prompt disbursal of financial assistance and rehabilitation support.
- Every tenant farmer must be issued an identity card and provided access to institutional credit.
- Amend G.O. 43 to create a dedicated fund for one-time settlement of farm debts owed by affected families.
- The government must urgently adopt a suicide prevention strategy, including a State-wide helpline, based on a comprehensive study of high-risk suicide regions like Rayalaseema and the districts of Palnadu and Prakasam.
Veldurthi mandal:
- 1. Moolam Srinivasa Reddy – Mandadi village, dt of death 29-02-2024
- 2. Aitamraju Venkateswarlu – Rachamallapadu, 11-06-2024
- 3. Jatawath Balu Naik – Srirampuram Thanda, 11-01-2024
Durgi mandal:
- 4. Challa Venkateswara Rao – Muthukur, 27-12-2023
- 5. Kolli Ramayya – Muthukur, 15-06-2022 (family received ex gratia)
Gurazala mandal:
- 6. Ganta Ganesh – Madugula, 02-03-2024
- 7. Bandla Narayana – Madugula, 04-03-2024
- 8. Siva Gangaraju – Pulipadu, 23-09-2024
- 9. Gundala Anjaneyulu – Thelukutla, 17-08-2024
Fact-finding team:
- G. Balu – RSV AP State Co-convener
- B. Kondal – RSV AP State Committee member
- K. Anuradha – HRF AP State Executive Committee member
- Y. Rajesh – HRF AP State general secretary
- V.S. Krishna – HRF AP&TG Coordination Committee member
02-08-2025,
Visakhapatnam.