Delay in debt waiver turning more farmers into defaulters, says panel
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government-appointed expert panel on debt waiver has asked the government to start the debt waiver process early and begin passing benefit to the farmers “without wasting time”, as delay was leading to more farmers turning defaulters.
T Haque, former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), who heads the panel, in a briefing to chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, also asked the state government to raise funds for the waiver.
“We had a detailed discussion with the CM on how to raise funds to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore when the state had already crossed its borrowing limit,” said a panel member.
On Monday and Tuesday, members of the panel visited Amritsar and Ludhiana to meet farmers and know their side of story.
“A section of farmers is demanding complete waiver (as promised by Captain Am arin der Singh during poll campaign), another is satisfied with the interest waiver, but all were unanimous that whatever government does, be done without wasting time. Farmers have stopped paying their loans and more are turning defaulters,” said BS Dhillon, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) vicechancellor.
Finance minister Manpreet Singh Bad al, who was also part of the briefing with Haque, said the government was waiting for the panel to give a final report. “Exact figures of the loan to be waived off and the number of beneficiary farmers is to be known,” Manpreet added. The
Haque panel is expected to give its final report in mid-August.
As a first procedural step towards debt waiver, the government plans to link all Krishi Cards on which farmer gets crop loans from, banks, to their Aadhar numbers to check duplication and maintain record.
“We want the exact number, it could be Rs 500-1,000 crore more or less than what was proposed in the interim report,” said finance minister Manpreet.
‘CONGRESS CHEATED FARMERS ’
In the two-day central working committee meeting of All India Kisan Federation was held here, the participants claimed that
farmers were committing suicides all over the country. President of the federation Prem Singh Bhangu said many farmers had ended their lives in the four-and-half months of Congress rule in Punjab as the Congress “cheated” farmers by promising total loan waiver.
NO COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGED CROPIN MANSA
MANSA: Mansa DC Dharam Pal Gupta has said that farmers in the district who faced damage to cotton crop due to heavy rainfall last month will not be given any compensation. The agriculture department conducted a survey and had found around 7,000acres of cotton crop damaged after 24 mm of rainfall last month.
The DC added that the revenue department had assessed the damage to the crop that was in the initial stage of sowing.
‘RAIN WASHES AWAY WHITEFLY THREAT’
BATHINDA: With rain finally arriving in the district on Tuesday, the threat of whitefly to cotton fields in Bathinda and other districts has eased. Sukhbir Singh, technical assistant, district agriculture department, said, “The rain is a boon for cotton as well as paddy farmers. The arrival of rain had meant that the threat of the disease is almost non-existent now.”