Vidarbha farmers massive protest rally demand Penal action against Erring Vilasrao Deshmukh and other leaders protecting Money Lender

Vidarbha farmers massive protest rally demand Penal action against Erring Vilasrao Deshmukh and other leaders protecting Money Lender

Pandharkawada-29th December 2009

Credit starved and harassed and exploited thousands of debt trapped vidarbha cotton farmers and farm widows today demanded to Indian Prez. And Supreme Court of India that recent report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) disclosing shocking figure that At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years. It brings the total farm suicides since 1997 to 2,16,500 and Maharashtra remained the worst State for farm suicides for the tenth successive year, reporting 2,872 farm suicides ,

Here is National crime records bureau 2009 farm suicide report

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17,368 farm suicides in 2009- National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). This is an increase of 1,172 over the 2008 count of 16,196. It brings the total farm suicides since 1997 to 2,16,500. The share of the Big 5 States, or ‘suicide belt' — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — in 2009 remained very high at 10,765, or around 62 per cent of the total, though falling nearly five percentage points from 2008. Maharashtra remained the worst State for farm suicides for the tenth successive year, reporting 2,872 is 590 more than in Karnataka, second worst, which logged 2,282 farm suicides.

Maharashtra has logged 44,276 farm suicides since 1997, over a fifth of the total 2,16,500. Within the Big 5, Karnataka saw the highest increase of 545 in 2009. Andhra Pradesh recorded 2,414 farm suicides — 309 more than in 2008. Madhya Pradesh (1,395) and Chhattisgarh (1,802) saw smaller increases of 16 and 29. Outside the Big 5, Tamil Nadu doubled its tally with 1,060, against 512 in 2008. In all, 18 of 28 States reported higher farm suicide numbers in 2009. Some, like Jammu and Kashmir or Uttarakhand, saw a negligible rise. Rajasthan, Kerala and Jharkhand saw increases of 55, 76 and 93. Assam and West Bengal saw higher rises of 144 and 295. NCRB farm data now exist for 13 years. In the first seven, 1997-2003, there were 1,13,872 farm suicides, an average of 16,267 a year.In the next six years 1,02,628 farmers took their lives at an average of 17,105 a year. This means, on average, around 47 farmers — or almost one every 30 minutes — killed themselves each day between 2004 and 2009

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And ent order of supreme court of India which reprimanded the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh court for interfering with the police action on a complaint by farmers alleging family members of Congress MLA Dilip Kumar Sananda were involved in money lending.

Here is very serious remark of Supreme Court

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SUPREME COPURT ODER

I. We cannot shut our eyes to the stark realities. Fro the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), it is clear that close to two lakh farmers committed suicide in India between 1997 and 2008. This is the largest sustained wave of suicides ever recorded in human history. Two thirds of the two lakh suicide took place in five states and those five states are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Even though Maharashtra is one of the richest state in the country and in its capital Mumbai twenty five thousand of India's one lakh dollar millionaires reside, the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, in which is situated Buldhana, I today the worst place in the whole country for farmers. Professor K. Nagraj of the Madras Institute of Development Studies who carried on a research in this area has categorized that Maharashtra could be called the graveyard of farmers.

II. The position is so pathetic in Vidarbha region that families are holding funerals and weddings at the same time and some time on the same day. In a moving show of solidarity poor villagers are accumulating their money and labour to conduct marriages and funerals of their poor neighbors. (See the report in Hindu dated 22nd May 2006).

III This being the ground reality, as the Chief Minister of the State and as holding a position of great responsibility as a high constitutional functionary, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh certainly acted beyond all legal norms by giving the impugned directions to the Collector to protect members of a particular family who are dealing in money lending business from the normal process of law. This amounts to bestowing special favour to some chosen few at the cost of the vast number of poor people who as farmers have taken loans and who have come to the authorities of law and order to register their complaints against torture and atrocities by the money lenders. The instructions of the Chief Minister will certainly impede their access to legal redress and bring about a failure of the due process.

IV. The aforesaid action of the Chief Minister is completely contrary to and inconsistent with the constitutional promise of equality and also the preambular resolve of social and economic justice. As a Chief Minister of the State Mr. Deshmukh has taken a solemn of oath of allegiance to the Constitution but the directions which he gave are wholly unconstitutional and seek to subvert the constitutional norms of equality and social justice.

V. The argument that some of the cases in which complaints were filed against the family of Sananda, were investigated and charge sheets were filed, is a poor consolation and does not justify the issuing of the wholly unauthorised and unconstitutional instructions to the Collector. It is not known to us in how many cases investigation has been totally scuttled in view of the impugned directions. Records disclosed in this case show that out of 74 cases only in seven cases charge sheets were filed and the rest of the cases were either compromised or withdrawn. How can poor farmers sustain their complaint in the face of such directions and how can the subordinate police officers carry on investigation ignoring such instructions of the Chief Minister? Therefore, the instructions of the Chief Minister have completely subverted the Rule o Law

VI.-This Court is extremely anguished to see that such an instruction could come from the Chief Minister of a State which is governed under a Constitution which resolves to constitute India into a socialist, secular, democratic republic. Chief Minister's instructions are so incongruous and anachronistic, being in defiance of all logic and reason, that our conscience is deeply disturbed. We condemn the same in no uncertain terms.

VII.-e affirm the order of the High Court and direct that the instruction of the Chief Minister to the Collector dated 5.6.06 has no warrant in law and is unconstitutional and is quashed. We dismiss this appeal with costs of Rs.10,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Lakhs) to be paid by the appellant in favour of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority. This fund shall be earmarked by the Authority to help the cases of poor farmers. Such costs should be paid

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The protesting cotton farmers have submitted the memorandum to local Talsildar Rajesh Adpawar have said that all vidarbha cotton farmers suicides in maharashtra reported NCRB are culpable homicide and these are mass genocide by the state and political leaders and executive who are protecting the these unregulated money lenders should be booked under Indian penal court and special fast track court should decide these cases in order to control the atrocities to debt trapped farmers who are forced to commit suicide ,Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) informed in statement today.

Vidarbha cotton farmers also protest exclusion from the recent Rs.1600 crore central and state package to the rain hit farmers even administration has given the survey of crop damages in 5.5. lacs hector the relief for cotton and soybean farmers are not covered moreover amount of relief is also peanuts with comparison to Speaking crop losses ,farmers also demanded fresh credit and loan waiver to all shelf help groups (SHG) who were not covered in any of the loan waiver announced earlier ,Tiwari said

VJAS leader Kishor Tiwari another shocking fact before the protesting farmers that more than 70% finance for cotton crop cultivation is given by private micro finance institutes MFI as against Rs.9600 crore total cost of cultivation ,state owned banks have given only Rs.1460 crore which has been most disturbing facts that is adding fuel in the despair of farmers as MFI style of finance and recoveries are through local self help group(SHG) which are now acting as shelf recovery group(SRG) which needs to be banned immediately to stop innocent victimization debt trapped cotton farmers.

Wet drought hit farmers of vidarbha has urged the administration to implement pending recommendations of expert panels of subsides food, fresh farm credit through administrative regulator as financial institutes are not following Govt. orders, free health care, free professional education and special economic program to increase rural employment to youths in order to minimize the distress in dying field of area, VJAS added in memorandum.

“if demands are fulfilled than all debt trapped vidarbha farmers will start indefinite road blockade from 30th Jan2010 followed by indefinite fast ” Mohan Jadhav secretary

VJAS announced in the meeting. More than 5000 farmers and farm widows attended the protest rally.

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