Fresh data tabled in the Maharashtra legislative council has brought renewed focus to the deepening agrarian distress in the state, with minister for relief and rehabilitation Makarand Jadhav (Patil) reporting that 781 farmers died by suicide in the first nine months of 2025.

In his written reply on Thursday, December 12, the minister stated that the deaths were linked to factors such as debt, crop failure and excessive rainfall.

As reported by The Times of India, Vidarbha’s Nagpur division accounted for the highest number of cases at 296, followed by 212 suicides in the Marathwada region. Jadhav was responding to a series of questions raised by MLCs Sudhakar Adballe, Ashok Jagtap, Abhijit Wanjari, Rajesh Rathod and Dheeraj Lingade, who sought clarity on the alarming rise in suicides.

“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.

Earlier in July, the minister had told the council that 767 farmer suicides had been registered between January and March 2025, with Marathwada and Vidarbha together accounting for 250 of those deaths.

Citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2023 figures – the latest available – Jadhav noted that Maharashtra accounted for nearly half of all suicides by people engaged in agriculture in the country.

Of 6,669 agricultural-sector suicides in the state, 4,150 were farmers and 2,519 were agricultural labourers, he said, according to the report.

In his updated reply, Jadhav said 102 cases were found “eligible” for government compensation, 62 were deemed “ineligible” and 86 were still under inquiry. Of the 102 eligible cases, 77 families had received the Rs 1 lakh financial assistance, with the rest in process.

Meanwhile, in the Rajya Sabha, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MP Fauzia Khan criticised the situation, stating that 766 farmer suicides had occurred in Maharashtra in the last three months alone, news agency PTI reported.

“I have a question for the government. When will the farmers become dear to the government?” she asked during Zero Hour.

She also alleged that despite the state government announcing a Rs 31,628-crore relief package after heavy rains and floods this year, ground realities did not reflect the promised support.