Brief amount of farmers’ loan was waived in MP, Raj, Punjab

New Delhi, Dec 6 : The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab have not waived off the entire amount of farmers' loan as announced by them, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday.

The minister also said that only a brief amount of loan was waived.

Tomar in a reply in Rajya Sabha to queries of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Prabhat Jha said not entire loans were waived off but a brief amount of loans was waived.

All three states have Congress-ruling government there.

Jha has asked the minister that whether it is a fact that waiving off the entire loan of the farmers was announced by the present governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.

He also asked whether the entire loan was waived off as per the declaration.

"Farmers in Madhya Pradesh, who had taken short-term crop loans from any scheduled commercial bank or cooperative banks including Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), and their loan was outstanding as on March 31, 2018, were eligible for loan waiver under the Chief Minister's Crop Waiver Scheme," said Tomar.



The maximum amount for waiver is Rs 2 lakh, he said.

Tomar said: "The total amount to be waived off was Rs 36,500 crore but the amount waived off as a relief was Rs 7,154 crore benefiting 20.23 lakh farmers."

Similarly, the farmers who had taken short-term crop loan from cooperative banks (including PACS) and Primary Land Development Banks and the loan was outstanding as on November 30, 2018, were covered under the Rajasthan Farmers Loan Waivers Scheme 2019 in the state.

The government waved off a total Rs 7,361.76 crore benefitting 19.895 lakh farmers.

Again under Rajasthan Farmers Loan Waiver Scheme 2019, the Marginal and Small farmers who have taken medium and long term agri-loan from cooperative banks, including PACS, and the loan was outstanding as on November 30, 2018, were covered.



In the first phase, farmers with overdue loan amount, less than Rs 2 lakh was covered. Against total amount of Rs 18,000 crore to be waived off, the government waived off Rs 229.74 crore benefitting 0.198 lakh farmers.

In Punjab, under Crop Loan Waiver Scheme 2017-18, the marginal and small farmers are eligible for the scheme up to Rs 2 lakh.

Loans, taken from scheduled commercial banks, cooperative credit institutions, including urban cooperative banks and regional rural banks, and outstanding as on March 31, 2017 was covered under the scheme.

The interest outstanding from April 1, 2017 till date of notification was also eligible for benefit under the scheme.

Against a total amount of Rs 10,000 crore to be waived off, the government waived off Rs 4,501.04 crore benefitting 5.55 lakh farmers.

--IANS

sk/rs.



Source: IANS