Fadnavis Announces Waiver of 34,000 Cr Farm Loan, 40 Lakhs of Maharashtra Farmers to Be Debt Free | Bombay News
Calling it a ‘historic milestone’ and naming it after Chhatrapati Shivaji, the government of Maharashtra on Saturday announced it would spend Rs 34,000 crore to cancel farm loans – the waiver will help 89 lakh farmers in debt across the state .
The government has set a ceiling of Rs1.5 lakh per farmer, which means that loans of around 40 lakhs from farmers will be completely canceled. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the decision on Saturday, after an unscheduled cabinet meeting. Of all the indebted farmers, 6 lakh of them can benefit from the program for a single payment of up to Rs 1.50 lakh. The government has also announced a special package for regular loan payers, granting them a bonus of Rs 25,000 or 25% of the loan paid – whichever is greater.
“This was a historic decision, because no other state has granted such a significant waiver. Andhra Pradesh waived loans up to Rs 20,000 crore, Punjab donated Rs 10,000 crore, Telangana announced a waiver of Rs 15,000 crore while Karnataka announced Rs 8,000 crore Rupees, ”Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. He said the decision was made after a meeting between the BJP, Shiv Sena allied leader Uddhav Thackeray, and senior opposition leaders.
Farmers, however, are not happy with the package, as they were against the Rs1.5-lakh cap and a June 2016 deadline to be eligible for the waiver. “We asked for a full loan waiver with no limit. The government has gone back on the assurance it gave us, ”said Raghunath Patil of Shetkari Sanghatana.
The waiver will increase the financial burden on the state, which could affect development projects, admitted CM Fadnavis, but said the government would partner with the banks for a structured loan.
“We are discussing with the nationalized banks on how to plan the repayment of the loans that we take. It is true that the government is not in a position to bear the additional burden, but our effort is to control the budget deficit, ”he said.
When announcing the package, named Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krishi Sanman Yojana, the state government excluded government employees, other than Class 4 employees, sitting legislators and elders, taxpayers and traders with an annual turnover of over Rs10 lakh. Loans taken out by farmers until June 30, 2016 will be canceled.
The announcement was made after a series of meetings with Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and Congressional head of state Ashok Chavan over the past two days. Although Thackeray insisted that the upper cap be raised to Rs2 lakh, the ruling party ensured that it was set at Rs1.5 lakh.
The decision was made after numerous protests from farmers more than a week earlier this month. The government had several rounds of discussion with a steering committee of farmer groups.
