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Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , Nov. 23

The Kerala Government is taking steps to speed up the writing off of loans taken by farmers who later committed suicide.

The Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, has instructed the officials concerned to take urgent measures to write off the loans.

At a meeting convened to take stock of progress in this respect, it was found that the cooperative banks were lagging behind in the exercise. The Chief Minister asked the officials to issue orders within two days to speed up the process.

The meeting observed that the financial institutions had almost completed the writing off of loans up to Rs 1 lakh.

804 suicides

It is estimated that as many as 804 farmers committed suicide in the State till July 31 this year on account of loan arrears. Wayanad topped the list with 332 suicides, followed by Kannur (138), Thrissur (86), Idukki (86), Kasaragod (72), Palakkad (43), Kozhikode (19), Thiruvananthapuram (9), Alappuzha (7), Kollam (4), Kottayam (3) and Pathanamthitta (1).

At the time of submitting the memorandum to the Centre seeking a farm package, the State Government could confirm only 549 suicides on the basis of information from various districts.

REVISED FIGURE

Later, the Revenue and Agriculture department officials arrived at the figure of 804 after examining cases that had been pending confirmation.

The Chief Minister directed the officials at the meeting to expedite the employment guarantee scheme in Wayanad and Palakkad districts. The meeting also decided to extend assistance of Rs 50,000 each to the families of the farmers who committed suicide.

More Stories on : Agricultural Policy | Social Security | Kerala

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