Author: Ravikiran Deshmukh
Publication: Mumbai Mirror
Date: August 19, 2007
URL: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=15&contentid=200708192007081903085600b4f6e92c
As suicides in Vidarbha show no sign of let-up, an unnerved CM and top officials go into a huddle to come up with answers to some tough posers that PM is coming with
Over a year after the Centre started releasing money to the Maharashtra government as part of the Rs 3,750-crore package announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July last year to stop farmers' suicides in Vidarbha, the PMO has asked the state to explain where the money has gone and why there is still no let-up in the number of suicides.
Unnerved by PMO's queries ahead of Manmohan Singh's visit to the state scheduled for August 30-31, the government has gone into an overdrive to formulate a response to save its face.
While Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has postponed his Europe tour planned for August 23, Chief Secretary Johny Joseph on Saturday held a day-long meeting of 20 seniormost officials. The meeting that started on 10.30 am continued late into the evening. Such was the urgency that no officials were allowed to take a break or leave the meeting midway.
As CM and his officials struggle against time to ready the answers, the PMO reportedly wants to know why the rate of suicide in Vidarbha is showing no signs of coming down. This year, over 600 farmers have already ended their lives. Last year, 1448 farmers had committed suicide. This means, the suicide figures this year are already close to the half-way mark.
There are other reasons as well for the PMO's anger. In response to a PIL filed in the Supreme Court on Vidarbha suicides, the state government had submitted an affidavitin in April, saying the PMO was to blame for the delay in disbursing the financial assistance to farmers in distress.
The Prime Minister's Ofice was also annoyed over an incident in which a cheque issued by the Yavatmal collector to the widow of a farmer bounced because of insufficient money in the bank account.
The disparity in reports based on causes and remedial measures on the issue have also raised eyebrows in the PMO, a senior officials.
The questions are plenty but the state government has just 12 days to answer of them.
The PM is scheduled to hold a review meeting on August 30 in Nagpur.
The CM and all his top Cabinet colleagues and senior state officials will be present at this meeting.
Sources in Delhi said the PM has made up his mind to take the Deshmukh government to task at this meeting.