New Delhi: Maharashtra has witnessed a total of 781 farmer suicides in the first nine months of 2025 with reasons ranging from loans, crop failure, and excessive rainfall, state relief and rehabilitation department minister Makarand Jadhav (Patil) informed the legislative council in a written reply on Thursday, December 12.

According to a report by The Times of India, the highest number of cases were reported in Vidarbha's Nagpur division, where 296 farmers died by suicide this year. Meanwhile, 212 suicides were reported in Marathwada.

The minister was replying to questions from MLCs Sudhakar Adballe, Ashok Jagtap, Abhijit Wanjari, Rajesh Rathod, and Dheeraj Lingade, among others on the rising number of suicides in the state.

"To prevent suicides, measures such as getting fair prices for farmers' produce, increasing irrigation facilities, immediately distributing compensation to farmers for crop/agricultural land/livestock losses, and operating disaster relief centres are being implemented at the district level," he said.

In July, Jadhav had informed the legislative council that a total of 767 cases of farmer suicides had been reported between January to March 2025. Of these, 250 were reported in Marathwada and Vidarbha alone.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2023 data (latest available), on an average, one of every two farmer suicides in the country occurred in Maharashtra. Of the 6,669 farmer suicides recorded in Maharashtra so far, 4,150 were farmers and 2,519 agricultural labourers, Jadhav said, as per the report.

In the latest reply, Jadhav informed, that 102 cases were found “eligible” for government compensation, while 62 cases were found “ineligible” and 86 cases were pending investigation. 

Out of the 102 eligible cases, 77 families received financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh. The process of providing assistance in the remaining cases is underway, he said.

In New Delhi, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Fauzia Khan criticised this in Rajya Sabha, claiming that 766 farmer suicides were reported in Maharashtra in the last three months, as per a report by PTI.

"I have a question for the government. When will the farmers become dear to the government?" Khan asked, as per the report, during the zero hour. 

She further claimed that despite the state government’s announcement of a Rs 31,628-crore relief package following heavy rains and widespread floods this year, the ground reality was different.

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