india

Updated: Jul 10, 2019 17:44 IST

YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of Rs 7 lakh to the kin of farmers who had committed suicide during the Telugu Desam Party regime headed by N Chandrababu Naidu between 2014 and 2019.

A decision to this effect was taken by Jagan Reddy while addressing district collectors and superintendents of police in the secretariat through a video conference held to review the progress of Spandana, a programme to identify the farmers’ grievances.

Jagan Reddy directed that all the families of farmers who had committed suicide between 2014 and 2019 be given Rs 7 lakh each.

He also announced that the government would enact a law to ensure that the ex gratia reached the actual beneficiaries. “The law will ensure that no other person other than the family of the suicide victim can claim the money,” he said.

Quoting statistics from district crime records bureau, the chief minister said as many as 1,513 farmers had committed suicide during the Chandrababu Naidu regime in the last five years. “But, the Naidu government had paid ex gratia only to 391 families. It clearly showed the previous government had miserably failed to come to the rescue of farmers,” Jagan said.

He said his government is trying to reach out to families of farmers who had to commit suicide out of distress. He directed that the district officials verify the data and if there were any families eligible to get the compensation could be given the money immediately. He also asked the officials to take the local MLAs into confidence and implement the programme.