SMALL FARMERS CRY FOUL, SAY THEIR NAMES MISSING FROM ELIGIBILITY LIST

Finding their names missing from the list for the debt-waiver scheme, farmers, who fall in small (holding 2.5 to below 5 acres) and marginal (less than 2.5 acres), held protests outside subdivisional magistrates’ offices and banks on Tuesday. In Mansa district, only 7,700 beneficiaries have been identified in 247 villages.

Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will launch the debt-waiver scheme from Mansa district on January 7 where he will distribute waiver certificates to 46,000 farmers.

“The lists have been prepared in haste and the actual beneficiaries have been ignored. The authorities have included names of rich farmers on the list,” said Buta Singh, state president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda).

“I have been cultivating less than an acre, but my name is not on the list. I am under ₹46,000 debt. However, some rich farmers have their names on the list,” alleged Sarabjit Singh, 43, a farmer from Ubbawal village in Sangrur district.

The lists were displayed in villages for social audit after collecting data of debtridden farmers from cooperative societies.

“It shocked me to see that my name is not on the list. I cultivate over two acres and I have to pay ₹1.7 lakh to a cooperative society,” said another farmer Sukhdev Singh.

Though the farmers held protests, the authorities denied favouritism. “The lists have been prepared according to the data provided by cooperative societies. If farmers find their names missing, they can inform banks, SDMs and our teams which are regularly visiting villages,” deputy commissioner Amar Partap Singh Virk said.

“The lists have been displayed for farmers’ help. The government will consider farmers who have taken loan from cooperative societies in the first phase, followed by public sector and private banks. Farmers will have to furnish Aadhaar card, land record, debt and its purpose to get the waiver,” Virk said.

I’ve been cultivating less than an acre, but my name is not on the list. I am under ₹46,000 debt. Some rich farmers are on it. SARABJIT SINGH, farmer from Ubbawal village in Sangrur Lists were made according to data by cooperative societies. If farmers find names missing, they can inform banks, SDMs, our teams. AMAR PARTAP SINGH VIRK, deputy commissioner, Sangrur