Waiver not for those who didn’t pay up

RULING BJP’s ally pulls up govt for not benefitting all

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), the ally of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of issuing a Government Resolution (GR), which is just an “eyewash.”

Raju Shetti, the president of SSS alleged that those who do not pay interest for their loans regularly will not benefit from the loan waiver package.

According to the GR, the farmers who have paid loan taken during financial year 2015-16 and repaid it regularly till June 30, 2016, and farmers who are defaulters or have loan to repay for the financial year 2016-17, have to pay complete dues before June 30, 2017. If farmers fulfil this condition, only then would they get benefits of loan waiver up to 25 per cent of the total outstanding or up to Rs25,000 as on June 30, 2017, whichever will be less.

Shetti questioned the government, saying, “The conditions in the GR are fishy. The number of farmers who are expected to benefit, that is 89 lakh, is a small number. The government has not included all needy farmers. Also, the condition in the GR will eliminate more than 50 per cent of these farmers, then how many really does the government plan to help?”

He explained that if the loan waiver scheme actually benefits 89 lakh farmers then there should be no new agitation. As per the reports

many leaders of the farmers have threatened to begin a new stir. Shetti said he is ready to have a dialogue with the government till July 25.

Also, the farmers’ organisations have called Kisan Mukti Yatra (protest for loan waiver) beginning from July 4, from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh. Shetti expected more than 130 organisations working for farmers’ welfare to participate in the protest rally.

“The rally will reach Delhi on July 18 with a demand to clear 7/12 card (property card of cultivated land) debt-free and implement recommendations of Swaminathan Commission,” said Shetti.

Fadnavis has announced loan waiver of up to Rs1.5 lakh that will be beneficial to almost 40 lakh out of total 89 lakh farmers. The rest of the waiver is meant for farmers who regularly pay their loans.