Debt waiver scheme notified, but with caveat on new loans

CHANDIGARH : With code of conduct coming to an end after the completion of the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll, the Punjab government on Wednesday finally notified the debt waiver scheme for farmers.

The notification comes exactly six months after the government had formed an expert panel on April 17 this year under T Haque to suggest ways to implement its poll promise.

As announced by the government, only marginal (those cultivating as owners less than or equal to 2.5 acres land) and small farmers (those cultivating as owners equal to or less than five acres of land) will be eligible for ₹2 lakh each relief.

A total of 10.25 lakh marginal and small farmers will be covered by the scheme.

But it comes with a caveat on fresh loans. A marginal farmer will be eligible for a fresh crop loan only upon paying one-third outstanding amount after a relief of ₹2 lakh.

The amount eligible for loan relief will be their crop loan as on March 31, 2017, and interest accrued on it till the date of notification.

With the Union government nod to state’s request to relax borrowing limit not coming through, the state cabinet had approved the use of rural development fund (RDF) for funding the waiver in its meeting on Monday.

The state needs around ₹ 10,000 crore for the purpose.

In its earlier meeting in August, the cabinet had also hiked the rural development fund and market fee levied on crops by one per cent.

However, later crops not covered under the minimum support price (MSP) regime such as basmati, cotton and pulses were removed from the list owing to opposition from farmer unions and rice millers.

The notification dated October 17, 2017 has tweaked the earlier notification sent to the Election Commission and made the agriculture department (held by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh) as the final authority to resolve doubts on interpretation of the scheme.

This power was earlier wrested in the finance department held by cabinet minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

The member secretary of the state-level monitoring committee will now be the additional chief secretary (development), department of agriculture and not the principal secretary, finance.

WITH UNION GOVT NOD TO STATE’S REQUEST TO RELAX BORROWING LIMIT NOT THROUGH YET, CABINET OKAYED USE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR FUNDING THE WAIVER ON MONDAY