The Supreme Court on last Friday had issued notice to
Gujarat government on a plea by an NGO seeking com pensation to families of
over 600 debt-ridden farmers who had allegedly committed suicide in the state
from 2003 to 2012.
However, information sought under the Right To
Information Act by Mirror regarding the same from the Union Ministry of
Agriculture revealed that between 2009 and 2013, no farmer had committed sui
cide in Gujarat due to crop failure.
CRANTI, the NGO, in its petition had stated that
since 2003 -when suicides by farmers started in Gujarat -till August 20, 2012
as many as 619 farmers committed suicide in the state. The figures, according
to the petition, were based on the response of the Gujarat govern ment to two
RTI applications.
