Rs 998L Pb relief for kin of farm hands who ended their life

The Punjab Government has cleared a financial assistance of Rs 998 lakh for the kin of 352 suicide victims of farmers and farm labourers.

Sharing the information, the State Revenue Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria on Thursday said that the State Level Committee (SLC) sanctioned the relief in the course of 12 meetings, since April last year.

With the release of Rs 998 lakh, the Congress Government had provided the highest ever relief to the victim families in such cases since the launch of this scheme in 2015. “Congress Government has, so far, approved 352 cases in which 226 cases were pending from erstwhile Government,” he said.

He impressed upon the Centre to immediately implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission so that the farmers get remunerative prices for their produce on the one hand and make agriculture economically viable on the other.

Making a fervent appeal to the farmers and farm labourers not to take such extreme steps like suicide, the Revenue Minister said that rather they should join hands with the State Government to transform the destiny of the beleaguered peasantry reeling under debts.

Department’s official spokesperson said that review meetings were held at the district and State level to ensure timely disbursal of compensation to the families of suicide victims.

Deputy Commissioners had been directed to scrutinize such cases within their jurisdiction on a monthly basis during the meetings of district level committees headed by them. The DCs have been asked to forward these cases to the SLC for approval positively by tenth of every month.