Farmers suicide: K'taka HC directs govt to compensate kin of who took loan from private lenders

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court directed the state government to issue necessary directions to the authorities to identify beneficiaries of the order issued by the Karnataka Government to compensate families of farmers, who committed suicide unable to pay off loans obtained from licensed private money lenders and ensure that they get benefit, if compensation was denied to them.

The order was passed by a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj after the government advocate placed the government order dated July 8, 2021, in compliance with the court order, in relation to a PIL filed by Akhanda Karnataka Raitha Sangha.

However, the court granted liberty to the petitioner to challenge the government order, which did not extend the benefit to the families of farmers, if they had committed suicide having been unable to pay loans obtained from ‘unlicensed’ private lenders.

The report submitted to the court records that out of 125 farmers who committed suicide in Shahpur taluk of Yadgir district alone in five years, the families of 105 farmers are entitled to compensation, in terms of the government order dated November 11, 2015. Among them, 20 families were held ineligible as the farmers had not borrowed money from banks. Out of 105 eligible families, seven are yet to be paid compensation, said the report.

Therefore, the court had noted that the state, showing a lack of sensitivity, has created two artificial classes of farmers who have committed suicide. The government has to take a stand on extending the benefit of Rs 5 lakh to the families of deceased farmers who have committed suicide unable to pay loan borrowed from the private money lenders, the court said in its earlier directions.

The government has also decided to pay compensation.