Maharashtra Farmers Whose Crop Loan Exceeds Rs 2 lakh Ineligible for Waiver
Farmers whose crop loan, taken between April 2015 and March 2019, is more than Rs two lakhs,will not be eligible for the credit waiver scheme announced by the Uddhav Thackeray-led ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ government in Maharashtra last week. The Government Resolution GR) issued here on Saturday stated.
“As per the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme, a loan up to Rs two lakhs taken between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2019 and not repaid until September 30, 2019 will be eligible for waiver,” he said.Farmers whose crop loan and restructuring loan is more than Rs two lakhs will not be eligible for any benefit under the scheme, she added.
A Government Resolution (GR) issued here on Saturday said.
The Finance and Cooperation Committee will decide whether to include farmers accounts (non-performing assets) in nationalized, private and rural banks in the credit waiver scheme. Individual farmers will be considered for a loan waiver, the GR said, adding that the loan is taken from nationalized, district, cooperative banks and cooperative societies will be considered.
Others who do not benefit from the scheme are elected representatives, including serving and former ministers, current and former MLAs, central and state government employees whose monthly family income is more than Rs 25.000, excluding Class IV employees. Those who pay income tax on non-agricultural wages, pensioners whose monthly income is more than Rs 25.000, except retired servicemen, will also not receive the benefit.
Meanwhile, farmer leader Ajit Navale said that the GR issued by the state government was a “betrayal” of the farming community, claiming that the majority of farmers would not benefit from the scheme because they had loan arrears of more than Rs two lakhs.
“The last credit waiver scheme provided for a one-time payment under which the government would pay Rs 1.5 lakh if the farmer deposits the remaining amount of the loan,” he said.” The majority of farmers have loan arrears of more than Rs two lakhs. So most farmers are out of the scheme. Moreover, the government had said that the exemption from the loan was unconditional,” he said. Navale said that the GR should be removed and that the waiver of the loan should be unconditional. Uddhav Thackeray had revealed the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme to the Legislative Assembly in Nagpur last Saturday, the last day of the winter session of the legislature. This loan waiver is due over two years after the Rs 34,000 Crore Loan waivers declared by the then BJP-Sena Government in 2017.
