State to waive loans of 50,70,151 farmers
DISTRESS CALL ₹18,044 crore credited to accounts of 43,04,149 farmers, says state; fewer takers for one-time settlement option
OF THE 8.11 LAKH OTS BENEFICIARIES, ONLY 1.83 LAKH HAVE OPTED FOR THE WAIVER BY PAYING THE REMAINING OUTSTANDING LOAN
MUMBAI: Even as the state has so far fixed the number of the farmers who will get loan waiver at 51 lakh, its one-time settlement (OTS) offer has found very few takers.
While announcing a loan waiver of ₹34,022 crore to 89 lakh farmers in June 2017, the government had divided farmers into three categories. The loan was waived entirely in cases where the amount was less than ₹1.5 lakh. In cases where the amount was more than that, farmers could get one-time settlement done – with the state waiving ₹1.5 lakh and the farmer paying the balance amount. Those who had paid their loan before the waiver was announced were given incentives in the range of ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.
The cooperation department has finalised the list of the beneficiaries at 50,70,151 farmers, by making allocation of ₹24,239 crore towards the waiver. According to the state, ₹18,044 crore has been credited to the accounts of 43,04,149 beneficiary farmers. The remaining are 8.11 lakh OTS beneficiaries. Of them, only 1.83 lakh have opted for the waiver by paying the remaining outstanding loan. “The response from OTS beneficiaries has been poor from the beginning. We have been tweaking the rules from time to time to accommodate more farmers. I think the farmers in the OTS list are hoping the government would extend the limit further,” said a department official.
Cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh said, “The poor response to the OTS segment is owing to the high amount of outstanding loans. During our review, we found some farmers owe as high as ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh in loans and are finding it difficult to repay the amount. We are hopeful the farmers will come forward to claim the waiver. Also, a few more farmers [in addition to the 51 lakh] may get the waiver .”
The Opposition slammed the government saying its intention was not clear. “We have been saying from the beginning that even 50% farmers would not get the benefit. The current figures prove it. It was only after our criticism that the government widened the scope of the scheme. Instead of keeping any cap of amount, like in case of OTS, it should be a blanket waiver,” said Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant.