13,928 farmer suicides recorded in Maharashtra in 54 months, RTI reply shows

Maharashtra recorded 13,928 farmer suicides between January 2022 and June 2026, according to information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the state government's Relief and Rehabilitation department. This works out to an average of more than eight deaths a day. Concern has also been raised over farm distress, rejection of compensation claims and the refusal to provide district-wise data.

According to the department, of the 13,928 cases, 8,945 were found eligible for financial assistance. A total of 4,042 cases were declared ineligible, while 941 are still under investigation.

Of the 8,945 eligible cases, 8,650 families have received compensation of Rs 1 lakh each. In all, Rs 86.50 crore was paid to these families. A total of 295 families are still waiting for payment.

The 4,042 rejected cases make up about 29% of all 13,928 recorded cases. This raises the question of what eligibility criteria were used to assess the claims and whether families are being properly told why their claims were rejected.

Jitendra Ghadge, an activist with the Young Whistleblowers Foundation, had sought district-wise and month-wise farmer suicide figures for the 54-month period. His aim was to identify geographical patterns and changes in the level of farm distress.

On July 24, the department's Public Information Officer, Snehal Sawant, allegedly told him that the information was available with the various district collector offices. She advised Ghadge to approach those offices.

Ghadge then filed a first appeal on August 18. A hearing was held on September 8. After that, the department provided statewide figures in aggregate, but did not provide the district-level breakdown that had been sought.

Ghadge said this was the first time in a decade that the department had refused to provide district-wise farmer suicide data. He also alleged that senior government officials had pressured the department to withhold the information. The allegation of pressure on officials could not be separately verified.