Several farmers in Kodangal, Siddipet, and Rajanna Sircilla have been left out of the scheme on grounds of data mismatch and ration card issues.
Published Sep 09, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 09, 2024 | 9:00 AM
While the Congress deems the crop loan waiver a resounding success, does it match the ground reality?
The Congress government in Telangana is thumping its chest over the ‘successful’ implementation of its loan waiver scheme but for farmers the triumph seems hollow. Several farmers in Telangana are still bogged down by debts even more than two weeks after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy released the final tranche of crop loan waiver.
Despite the much-touted implementation of the loan waiver — or the Rythu Runamaafi —scheme, realities in Kodangal, Siddipet, and Rajanna Sircilla districts painted a different picture. South First visited these districts to assess the actual impact of crop loan waiver. Who has it really helped?
Now with the noise around the government’s ‘great achievement’ dying down, the ground reality has raised a pertinent question: Was the Congress trying to score points on technicality without playing the game in full?
The Congress government has been patting itself on the back ever since it started releasing three tranches of the farm loan waiver — loans up to ₹1 lakh, ₹1.5 lakh, and ₹2 lakh on 18 July, 25 July, and 15 August, respectively.
On 15 August, the Congress celebrated the ‘grand success’ of the scheme along with Independence Day. The waiver was much publicised as Revanth Reddy beamed at passersby from metro pillars across Hyderabad, alongside smiling farmers.
The party reiterated the narrative that it was fulfilling its six poll promises. However, the festivities were short-lived as the Opposition soon punched holes in the claims and pointed out that several farmers were left untouched by the hyped benevolence.
South First found that even in Revanth Reddy’s constituency in the Kodangal district, not many have benefited from the waiver, contrary to the government’s tall claims. A banker in the district estimated that nearly 40 percent of the eligible loans were yet to be waived.
Speaking to South First, Medakayala Yadaiah, a former sarpanch of Malyala, said most of them had not benefitted from the waiver.
Medakayala Yadaiah, former sarpanch of Malyala.
Yadaiah still has a loan of ₹92,000. “Even the individuals who got approval for the waiver are waiting for the release of funds,” he said.
“They’re citing Aadhaar detail mismatch as a reason for not waiving our loans. If that is the case, how did they approve our loan applications,” he wondered.
“Almost everyone who did not get their loans waived approached the district agricultural officer. The reply was the same. They said our complaints were being processed,” he added.
Mahipal Reddy, a paddy farmer from Malyala, had everything in order. He has a separate ration card, and his Aadhaar details match with the records. Yet, he still has a loan burden of ₹1.16 lakh.
“I was offered no reason. The agriculture officer asked me to wait after submitting my bank statement. No action has been taken so far,” he said.
“Some families here haven’t got a ration card in 20 years. How does it make sense to club all our loans together even when we live apart,” Mahipal asked. Many others echoed the same sentiment as they too were excluded for no fault of theirs.
Many farmers at Malyala, Narayanaraopeta Mandal, in Siddipet district have been left out.
“My loan is only ₹57,000 but my brother has his loan. As our cumulative loan is ₹2.06 lakh, neither of us can avail of the waiver,” Dhotiramulu of Narayanaraopeta revealed.
Ajay Reddy of Sarampalle village holds a ration card issued in his grandfather’s name. “I have availed a loan of ₹1.6 lakh but going by the ration card, we have a loan exceeding ₹6 lakh,” he said.
Malyala farmer Yadav Reddy pointed out a discrepancy in the scheme. “Multiple substantial loans availed by an extended family using different ration cards could get the waiver. However, our smaller amounts were not waived since we have a single ration card,” he lamented.
Medakayala Yadaiah invited attention to the lack of transparency in the process. “If they at least release a list of loans they will waive, we can try to resolve the issues,” he opined. He termed the entire exercise unorganised.
“Our existing loans are hanging in limbo,” Malla Papala Kanakkaiah, a farmer in Narayanaraopeta Mandal, was visibly confused. “We don’t know if we should wait for the Agriculture Department to resolve our complaint or pay the monthly interest.”
He added he would have to repay more if excluded from the scheme.
Farmers Buggila Rajesh and Narsaiah Kommati of Thangallapali Mandal have debts ₹70,000 and ₹45,000, respectively. Despite approaching the agriculture office, their loans were not waived.
While several farmers with loans under ₹2 lakh were still awaiting funds, those with over ₹2 lakh in debt remained worried. B Satyanarayana Reddy, a 67-year-old paddy farmer, has lost hope that the government would ease his burden.
“The rules making it a conditional waiver are unfair. It is hypocritical,” he criticised.
The crop loan waiver was part of the Congress’s election manifesto. It promised to waive crop loans of up to ₹2 lakh.
Speaking at the Jalasoudha, Uttam Kumar Reddy revealed key figures from the implementation of the crop loan waiver.
In February, after Congress formed the government, it reaffirmed its commitment to waive the loans. Presenting the interim budget in February, Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the government was drafting the guidelines for the waiver.
In his full budget speech in July, Bhatti announced the completion of the first tranche of the waiver, benefitting 11.34 lakh farmers. He reported that the government was gathering the requisite ₹31,000 crore despite the financial ‘distress’ the state was going through.
Minister for Irrigation Uttam Kumar Reddy released the first major official data at Jalasoudha four days after the third tranche was distributed on 15 August. Revealing that about 17 lakh loans were still to be waived, he gave a breakup and listed the reasons for the delay.
While 4.83 lakh accounts still require ration card verification, 1.65 lakh accounts were withheld due to Aadhaar card data mismatch. Assuring that all eligible farmers would get the benefit of the waiver, he informed that the redressal process had begun.
After Uttam Kumar’s revelation, Bhatti stated that farmers received just ₹7,500 crore of the proposed ₹18,000 crore. At a state-level banker’s committee meeting on 20 August, he placed the onus on the bankers to expedite the process.
He added that the government released the funds to encourage farmers to procure fresh capital for the upcoming season. Stressing the importance of quick waiver of the loans, he noted that any delay would minimise the benefits.
Bhatti gave the Congress a pat on the back for completing the seemingly impossible, quoting Nelson Mandela. Ironically, the premature celebration fell flat as Congress failed to take the long walk to actual implementation.
“We need to validate the data sourced from the banks,” Telangana Director of Agriculture Dr B Gopi said. He added that the priority was to waive the approved loans before addressing the excluded ones.
“There are numerous issues like the land record or Aadhaar data mismatch, interest exceeding the capital, and loans over ₹2 lakh grouped under one ration card,” he explained. Stating that technical issues also hindered implementation, he added that funds cannot be released without due diligence.
“For loans over ₹2 lakh, we will first waive those availed by women,” Gopi said.
The Department of Agriculture has been focusing on resolving the numerous complaints. “The district agriculture office will send people door-to-door to verify loans awaiting waiver,” Gopi informed.
Yadaiah corroborated the official’s version. He said an officer would visit them soon to look into their complaints.
According to the guidelines, grievances must be redressed within 30 days. The farmers could seek redressal by either approaching the mandal’s agriculture office or applying online.
For now, the farmers have received no updates from the government or officials. Still, they hope that they, too, would get a waiver.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
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