Nagpur: As many as 6,740 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra during the two-and-a-half years’ tenure of the first Mahayuti government, said Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the legislative council Ambadas Danve on Tuesday.
He claimed the highest number of these farmer suicides recorded between July 1, 2022, and November 30, 2024, were reported from Nagpur and Amravati districts.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC made these statements while taking part in a debate on Governor C P Radhakrishnan’s address to the joint sitting of both houses of the state legislature.
He expressed concern over what he called the “worsening” condition of farmers and accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government, which started its second tenure on December 5, of neglecting their issues.
According to Danve, the state government had promised a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 6,000 per quintal for cotton, but farmers were yet to receive this amount.
Additionally, he highlighted the government’s “failure” to meet the demand for solar pumps.
While farmers had requested for 12 lakh solar pumps, the state government managed to deliver only 1.39 lakh units, he told the upper house of the legislature, which is currently having its winter session in Nagpur.
Danve demanded the creation of a separate department dedicated to providing solar pumps to farmers.
The Leader of Opposition raised concern over the state’s mounting debt, which he claimed, currently stands at Rs 8 lakh crore.
This financial burden has stalled the state’s progress and hindered its ability to invest in key sectors like agriculture and rural development, he noted.
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