Dated 27th January 2006

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo-motu cognizance of a news report captioned "No cotton crop, farmers sell their kidneys instead" which appeared in the 'The Times of India' dated 23/01/2006. Expressing its distress over the report, the Commission has sought comments from the Government of Maharashtra.
The press report, inter-alia, states that the farmers and the village elders of Village Shingnapur in Nandgaon tehsil of Amravati District in Maharashtra, after the suicide death of a farmer Jagdish Deshmukh last month, convened a meeting on January 15, where they passed resolution to offer their kidneys for sale to raise money for the next crop. They also displayed a banner, which reads 'Farmers Kidneys for sale'.
The media report further discloses that in the cotton growing Vidarbha region 244 farmers have committed suicide since June last year, as either their crops have failed or due to poor yields, which were hardly enough for their subsistence and to repay the dues of Cooperative Banks and Sahukars. According to the news report Shingnapur is not the only village, but it started with Dorli village in Wardha District and the villagers of Lahegaon and Shivani Rasulapur also decided to follow suit to raise capital and to clear farmer's debt.
The Commission observed that the content of the report, if true, raises a serious issue concerning human rights of farmers.
The Commission has forwarded a copy of news item to the Chief Secretary, Maharashtra and has sought comments of the State Government within two weeks.
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