Farmer suicides: Bombay HC intervention sought

Prevention of killing of cow progeny has adversely affected the farmers’ economy, ultimately leading to suicides, according to a PIL filed by NCP MLA Shankaranna Dhondge from Marathwada. The PIL has asked the court to give directions to the government to not treat farmers’ products as commodities since fluctuations in minimum support price of agricultural products are among the main reasons behind farmer suicides. The PIL has been filed at Aurangabad divisional bench of Bombay high court on Tuesday.

The PIL elaborates the poor plight of farmers for the past three years due to drought and seeks the court’s intervention.

It says that farmers too have a right to life and are not getting adequate support from the government. The PIL says that farmers do not get any help from the state which is why they prefer to commit suicide.

Last month, Bombay high court had pulled up the state government for the same issue and asked it to come up with long-term measures.

“We have mentioned 16 points in the PIL that are affecting the rural economy and forcing farmers to commit suicide,” said Mr Dhondge.

“No minimum support price for agriculture products, prevention of killing of cow progeny, wrong policies of export and import are a few points,” he further added.

“After preventing animal slaughter, the state should have taken care of animals. But no fodder is available neither are there cow sheds for old animals and farmers cannot even sell them in an emergency situation as there are no buyers,” he said. He noted that there are no employment guarantee works, no supplementary schemes like cattle breeding and this has disturbed the lives of farmers and destroyed their families.

Also agricultural products are treated as commodities and their prices keep fluctuating. Farmers do not have any guarantee for their farm products and hence, incur losses many times, said Mr Dhondge.

“The government should stop treating food as commodity, else farmers will never get desired returns on it,” he added.

In the PIL, the MLA has also demanded a pension of Rs 5,000 for farmers above 60 years of age. “Farmers have dedicated their lives to agriculture only. We have not only become self-sufficient in terms of food but are now also exporting food. The whole credit goes to farmers and their families and hence, government should give them substantial pension and value their hard work,” he said.