Fast-tracking the process of providing relief to the families of farmers and farm labourers who have committed suicide, the Captain Amarinder Singh government has approved financial assistance to the tune of Rs.835 lakhs in 296 cases of suicide since taking over the reins of Punjab.This is the highest ever amount of relief given to the affected families in such cases since the scheme was launched in 2015.Disclosing this here, an official spokesperson said the relief had been sanctioned by the State Level Committee (SLC) set up for the purpose in nine meetings since April last year.
Giving details, the spokesperson said the Chief Minister had directed early clearance of the backlog in such cases by the State Level Committee for Rendering Financial Assistance to the Kin of Farmer & Farm Labourers Affected by Suicides.All the Deputy Commissioners, who are also the heads of District Level Committees, had been directed to scrutinize the cases falling under their jurisdiction on a monthly basis. They had further been asked to forward the cases for to the SLC for approval by the 10th of every month, said the spokesperson.Among the cases cleared by the SLC are 199 that date back to the period between 2013 to 2016. These include 11 cases of 2013, 31 of 2014, 29 of 2015, 128 of 2016 and 80 cases of 2017.
The approved cases include 80 cases from Sangrur, 58 cases from Mansa, 44 from Barnala, 24 from Bathinda, 13 from Tarn Taran, 9 from Amritsar, 07 cases each from Faridkot and Fatehgarh Sahib, 06 from Fazilka, 08 from Sri Muktsar Sahib, 04 cases from Ferozepur, and 1case each from Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and SBS Nagar, 11 cases from Ludhiana, 02 from Patiala and 03 from Rupnagar. The spokesperson said the Chief Minister’s directions in this regard were being followed in letter and spirit, and monthly meeting was being held at District and State levels to ensure speedy disbursal of financial assistance to the kin of farmers and farm labourers who had ended their lives in desperation on account of their unmanageable debt burdens. Pointing out that his government had already launched a debt waiver scheme for the small and marginal farmers, and had also assured of similar relief to the farm labourers in subsequent phases, the Chief Minister appealed to the farmers and farm labourers not to resort to such desperate measures as suicide.