Hyderabad: The Telangana government has sanctioned a compensation amount of Rs 6 lakhs for the families of 133 farmers who committed suicide in the last few years.
The state government has sanctioned 7.95 crore rupees as compensation to the farmer’s families who lost their breadwinners. The government has authorized the district collectors to withdraw the money and transfer it to the respective beneficiaries.
In the Vikarabad district, 27 farmers lost their lives and in the Yadadri Bhuvanagri district, 23 farmers took their own lives.
The association organized a public hearing and protest in Hyderabad on 16 December where the relatives of dead farmers discuss their problems.
The leader of Rythu Sawrajya Vedika Ravi Kanneganti speaking to The Hindu Business Line said, “The list includes farmers that committed suicide during 2014 and 2018.”
The Telangana government introduced Rythu Bhima Scheme in 2018 which offers an insurance cover to the farmers.
“Though it is quite useful, it doesn’t cover the farmers that don’t own any land. The tenant farmers are not covered,” Ravi said.
Rythu Swarajya Vedika is a network of organizations and individuals working for the well-being and rights of the farming community, and for addressing the crisis of farmer suicides and assisting the victim families.
The RSV ( Rythu Swarajya Vedika) wants the government to expand the scope of the insurance scheme to cover the landless farmers.
“The scheme should cover all members of the family that take part in farming,” he added.