Implementation Of G.O. 421: Irresponsible Attitude Of Karimnagar Administration

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) is shocked at the utterly irresponsible attitude of the Karimnagar district administration in the matter of implementation of G.O. 421 that seeks to provide relief to families of farmers who have committed suicide.

The HRF had made several oral and written appeals to the district administration on the issue. Specifically, in April of this year we had written to the district collector drawing attention to the “appalling state of affairs regarding implementation of G.O. 421 in Sircilla division.” Of the 13 cases of reported farmers’ suicides in that division during the preceding year (2011), the three-member divisional verification committee (as required by G.O. 421) had not completed enquiries in a single case! In fact, the committee had not even visited a single of the 13 families at the time we submitted the petition to the district administration. We also stated that the situation is not much better in the other revenue divisions and requested that all cases of farmers’ suicides in the district be enquired into afresh so that justice may be done to those families who have already lost much and are in a state of acute desperation.

As no significant action was taken in response to our April appeal, on 10 September 2012, we, along with over 20 families of farmers who have committed suicide in Karimnagar district waited over 3 hours on the weekly grievance day to submit a representation again to the District Collector about the issue. We submitted a petition mentioning how very minimal action has been taken to bring succour to the grieving
families in the district under G.O. 421 even though five months have gone by since we have brought the issue to the notice of the Collector and over a year and half has passed since some of the suicides took place. We specifically mentioned that such delay defeats the very purpose of G.O. 421 and strongly urged the Collector to get all cases of farmers suicides in the district immediately enquired into and that appropriate relief be given under G.O. 421.

We received a response exactly a month after we submitted the petition. Since the correspondence address we gave when we submitted the petition was that of our Karimnagar district vice-president, M. Ilaiah, the Joint Director, Agriculture, Karimnagar district wrote to him saying that in the year 2011, no farmers suicides have taken place in Ilaiah’s mandal (Veenavanka)! That was all they said in response to a petition about such a serious issue pertaining to the families of farmers who have committed suicide in ALL of Karimnagar district. How they understood the petition as pertaining to only Mr. Ilaiah’s mandal when we talked about farmers’ suicides in all of Karimnagar district is baffling. It was certainly because of gross neglect.

In both our petitions, we mentioned that the implementation of G.O. 421 was pathetically minimal in Sircilla and Karimnagar revenue divisions but that other divisions were not that different. However, overlooking all that we have said in the petition, the district administration, and specifically the Collector, have displayed utter neglect towards the grieving families of farmers who have committed suicide in Karimnagar district. This attitude of the Karimnagar administration is shamefully insensitive and completely unacceptable.

As we have cried hoarse through our petitions and rallies, it goes without saying that farmers commit suicide almost always under extreme financial stress and associated pressures. Not only is the government doing very little to make farming viable, it has even failed to provide relief to those families whose earning members were driven to
commit suicide as a result of severe agrarian crisis.

What is the purpose of seemingly progressive legislation and rules if they are not used in favour of the most desperate among us?

We once again urge the Collector to convene, at the earliest, a review meeting with all RDOs on the matter of implementation of G.O. 421 and render justice to the families of farmers who have committed suicide.

Attached:

1. HRF’s representation to the administration in April, 2012.
2. HRF’s petition to the administration in September, 2012.
3. Response of the administration to our September petition.
4. Copy of G.O. 421.