Widows from the farmers’ suicides
Posted in Blog
We have consistently advocated for aid for farmers who have been in dire economic situations either due to the failure of their crop or debts owed; and for the women who were widowed by subsequent farmers’ suicides due to government inaction.
On 22nd August 2009, Gujarat Samachar covered a story on the immense difficulties faced by these vulnerable widows in obtaining pension from the government. It was based on the information received from a RTI filed by Bharatsinh Jhala of Cranti and the Kisan Adhikar Manch,
From 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2007, 589 farmer suicides were registered with the police in Gujarat. In 16 of the cases, in spite of having filed numerous applications for pension, the widows have not received any support from the government. They are to officially receive a sum of Rs.500 per month for themselves and Rs. 80 per month for each child.
The women are not informed of where to obtain the forms. If a an educated person in the village is kind enough to obtain the form, fill the requisite details and submit it to the village revenue officer cum executive, then it gets stuck in bureaucratic processes. For months together, neither the zilla panchayat nor the government social security offices give any clear answers/direction. If at all, the widowed women are told that their forms were not received and they should submit a new application. When a new request is submitted, they are rejected on the basis that the two year time limit for pension applications has expired.
Such is the case of Kailashben Parmar of Navaniya village, Mudi taluka in Surendranagar. Her husband, Bapalal Karanbha took his life on the day of 19th May 2002, because his crop failed. She submitted her pension application to the revenue cum executive officer on 20th February 2003. She also made an appeal to the chief officer. In spite of this, the Limbdi subdivision collector, on 6th June 2009, rejected her application stating that it was not submitted within the stipulated two year time limit. Similarly, in the villages of Borsad, Rajula (Amreli) and Chuda taluka (Surendranagar), the widowed women have not received any aid from the government in the last three-four years. The Kisan Adhikar Manch has appealed from the zilla collector’s office to various other government departments, but there has been no response from the government.
The claims of these widows claims are legitimate and local government officers need to be compassionate, extend a human hand and offer the promised assistance-support at the soonest.
