The Opposition BRS has been taunting Congress to implement the scheme for all farmers who availed loans since it was the party's promise.
Published Jul 15, 2024 | 8:43 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 26, 2024 | 2:21 PM
Representative image. (iStock)
In an unexpected twist, the Telangana government has made possession of ration cards mandatory for a farmer’s family to avail of crop loan waiver up to ₹2 lakh.
Even if a family has a ration guard, the guidelines issued by the agriculture department have restricted the waiver to be availed only by one person in a family.
However, the decision to restrict the waiver to one beneficiary in each family possessing a ration card is likely to stir a hornet’s nest.
The Opposition BRS has been taunting the state government to implement the scheme for all farmers who availed loans as it was a promise made by the Congress. The pink party dared the government to do it by 15 Agus or face agitation.
If the Telangana government manages to implement the scheme to the satisfaction of a majority number of farmers, it might prove to be a game changer for Congress, which is attempting to consolidate its position in the state. This is because the loan waiver of up to ₹1 lakh announced in 2018 by the previous BRS government was done only partially and it was done in tranches during the last five years.
As present, state government needs ₹31,000 crore to implement the waiver of loans under this criteria. If it were to cover all farmers, the bill might go up to ₹35,000 to ₹36,000 crore. The government has been working overtime finding ways to mobilise resources to fund the scheme, one of which was to float a corporation, authorizing it to raise loans. Other ways include leasing out government lands.
The government apparently made ration card mandatory to prevent the farmers who are well off from availing the loan waiver facility. On a number of occasions this has been made clear by chief minister A Revanth Reddy.
All those who availed crop loans between 12 December 2018 and 13 December 2023 are eligible for waiver. The waiver would be done bottom up, clearing small ticket loans first and gradually waiving loans of higher value with a ceiling of ₹2 lakh per family.
The loan waiver money would directly be credited to the farmers’ bank accounts. For the waiver of the loans, the government would set up a web portal.
The crop loan waiver is not applicable to Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint Liability Group (JLG), Rythu Mitra Group (RMG), Loan Eligibility Cards (LECS) and the loans that have been rescheduled. Also, the waiver is not available to the loans that had been rescheduled or restructured, and the loans that had been sanctioned as crop loans to companies and firms.
The government said it would put in place a mechanism whereby farmers could clear their doubts on eligibility for availing loan waiver.
The waiver is applicable for short term loans only. The loans should have been raised from scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, district cooperative central banks and primary agriculture cooperative credit societies. The waiver is applicable for both principal and interest accrued on the loan.
The government has sounded a warning that if any farmer avails the loan through fraudulent means or by furnishing falsified data, or were ineligible for the waiver, he will have to return the money to the government. In the event of failure, the government would invoke Revenue Recovery Act to get back the money that had been paid to the farmer under loan waiver scheme.
(Edited by Neena)
(South First is now on WhatsApp and Telegram)