18 Farmer Families in Andhra Await Compensation as Rights Groups Allege Government Delay
Rights groups Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) and Human Rights Forum (HRF) have urged the Andhra Pradesh government to immediately provide assistance to families of 18 farmers who reportedly died by suicide due to agrarian distress in Anantapur district. The organisations, in a press release on Tuesday, stated that none of the 18 families have received the ex gratia compensation of ₹7 lakh mandated under Government Order (G.O.) Ms. No. 43 for farm-related suicides.
The groups also noted that most widows in these families are yet to receive their pensions. According to G.O. Ms. No. 102, dated October 14, 2019, a Village Revenue Officer should visit the family on the day of the incident, and a mandal-level committee must submit a preliminary report to the Divisional Level Committee within 24 hours. The Divisional Level Committee, led by the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), is required to verify the information and recommend ex gratia within seven days.
HRF and RSV teams visited 18 villages across nine mandals in three revenue divisions on June 27 and 28. They found that while mandal-level committees visited some families and confirmed the suicides as farm-related, the RDO-led committee had not followed up, leaving compensation undispersed. According to HRF data, around 150 farmers have reportedly died by suicide in the combined Anantapur district since the beginning of 2024, with none receiving compensation.
The farmers who died were mostly small landholders cultivating high-risk, market-oriented crops such as cotton, chilli, tomato, and groundnut. Factors such as water scarcity, borewell failures, rising temperatures, high input costs, lack of assured prices, and recurring pest attacks were cited as contributors to the distress.
The activists called on the government to address the agrarian crisis and ensure that the Divisional Level Committee completes inquiries swiftly so that families receive assistance without further delay.
