Amarinder announces loan waiver bonanza for farmers

Small and marginal farmers with loans up to ₹2 lakh biggest beneficiaries; plan doesn’t cover loans extended by arhtiyas

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday announced a total waiver of crop loans up to ₹ 2 lakh of small and marginal farmers (owning up to 5 acres), and a flat ₹2 lakh relief for all marginal farmers, irrespective of the loan amount.

The chief minister’s announcement covers cooperative loans, not loans taken by farmers from arhtiyas (private money lenders). A total of 10.25 lakh farmers are expected to benefit from the loan write-off involving a liability of ₹20,500 crore. He also announced a waiver of ₹ 50,000 for scheduled caste farmers irrespective of land holdings.

Amarinder, who made the

announcement while replying to a discussion on the governor’s address, said the roadmap for waiver and total funds required would be announced by the finance minister in his budgetary proposals. “The waiver will provide double the relief announced by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra,” he said.

The announcement is based on an interim report submitted by an expert group headed by Dr T Haque, former chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), set up in April 2017 to assess the quantum of debt and ways and means for its waiver. The loan-waiver promise was part of the Congress manifesto released during the assembly polls.

The CM announced to waive the entire loan of families of farmers who committed suicide in the state, besides increasing the ex gratia for suicide-affected families to ₹ 5 lakh from the existing ₹ 3 lakh.

GIVE UP POWER SUBSIDY, CM TO RICH FARMERS

Amarinder Singh, while reiterating that the free power subsidy would continue, asked the well to do farmers to give up their subsidy voluntarily.

Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and former revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the SAD-BJP government indulged in a verbal spat during discussion on the governor’s address. Sidhu was seen making aggressive gestures towards the opposition benches. Both Sidhu and Majithia also used unparliamentarily words against each other that were expunged by speaker Rana KP Singh. This also led to adjournment in the House. Majithia said the Congress had promised that kin of any farmer committing suicide would get ₹10 lakh and a job. “Where are all the big promises you made, before the polls?” he asked, demanding a complete loan waiver for farmers. Akali MLAs later came into the well of the House demanding more time to speak and staged a walk out.