State to spruce up farm relief
The Vilasrao Deshmukh government, constantly under scrutiny over farm suicides in Vidarbha, has decided to pull up its socks to prevent the Opposition from exploiting the issue during the winter session of the state legislature.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: The Vilasrao Deshmukh government, constantly under scrutiny over farm suicides in Vidarbha, has decided to pull up its socks to prevent the Opposition from exploiting the issue during the winter session of the state legislature beginning on November 19 in Nagpur.
Sensing a belligerent mood, the Congress-NCP government has asked district collectors in Vidarbha to ensure that government officials personally take note of every suicide taking place in the region.
District officials, including district collectors or chief executive officers of zilla parishads, have been asked to personally visit every household that reports a farm suicide to console the bereaved family and also to ensure due compensation. The state government is implementing relief measures in six of the total 11 districts of Vidarbha.
“The step has apparently been taken to ensure that the crisis does not generate much political heat during the session. If the government officials are seen personally delivering relief items to farmers’ families, it would surely help in keeping public sentiments under control,” an official acknowledged.
The government also wants its officials to initiate dialogue with distressed farmers. “A survey conducted by the state government indicates high level of distress in six districts.
Farmers in several villages are very vulnerable to taking this drastic step of killing themselves, and we need to engage them into a positive discussion about relief measures and incentives that the government is offering. Our officers have been asked to help farmers reduce their stress levels,” another official said.
The effort to make the administration reach out to the needy, according to them, was also aimed at keeping a check on the suicide figures claimed by several NGOs.
“Generally, the figures that NGOs quote are higher than what the government records show. But this has not happened in Vidarbha and the government records show more number of suicides than those reported by NGOs,” an official told ET.
We don’t want bogus NGOs out to exploit this crisis for their benefit to take a high moral ground by claiming that the government is not aware of the ground realities. The government machinery is gigantic enough to reach out to farmers before any fake NGO does,” a senior bureaucrat told ET.
There have been reports about some NGOs of questionable credentials in Vidarbha trying to whip up public frenzy over fake suicide incidents, the sources added.
Sensing a belligerent mood, the Congress-NCP government has asked district collectors in Vidarbha to ensure that government officials personally take note of every suicide taking place in the region.
District officials, including district collectors or chief executive officers of zilla parishads, have been asked to personally visit every household that reports a farm suicide to console the bereaved family and also to ensure due compensation. The state government is implementing relief measures in six of the total 11 districts of Vidarbha.
“The step has apparently been taken to ensure that the crisis does not generate much political heat during the session. If the government officials are seen personally delivering relief items to farmers’ families, it would surely help in keeping public sentiments under control,” an official acknowledged.
The government also wants its officials to initiate dialogue with distressed farmers. “A survey conducted by the state government indicates high level of distress in six districts.
Farmers in several villages are very vulnerable to taking this drastic step of killing themselves, and we need to engage them into a positive discussion about relief measures and incentives that the government is offering. Our officers have been asked to help farmers reduce their stress levels,” another official said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The effort to make the administration reach out to the needy, according to them, was also aimed at keeping a check on the suicide figures claimed by several NGOs.
“Generally, the figures that NGOs quote are higher than what the government records show. But this has not happened in Vidarbha and the government records show more number of suicides than those reported by NGOs,” an official told ET.
We don’t want bogus NGOs out to exploit this crisis for their benefit to take a high moral ground by claiming that the government is not aware of the ground realities. The government machinery is gigantic enough to reach out to farmers before any fake NGO does,” a senior bureaucrat told ET.
There have been reports about some NGOs of questionable credentials in Vidarbha trying to whip up public frenzy over fake suicide incidents, the sources added.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
