Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao has announced waiver of loans obtained up to ₹99,999 in continuation with his promise of waiving farm loans.
The Chief Minister made the announcement on the eve of the Independence Day on Tuesday, fulfilling the promise made by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharat Rashtra Samithi) in the manifesto of the previous elections. Orders have been issued to the Finance department to credit the amounts into the accounts of farmers who obtained loans from different banks.
Mr.Rao instructed the department officials to credit the amounts into the respective accounts of farmers. The department had accordingly released orders sanctioning ₹5,809.78 crore that would be credited as repayment of dues of 9.02 lakh farmers. The development assumes significance as the Chief Minister had promised to waive farm loans up to ₹1 lakh in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly elections.
The officials concerned had been directed to prepare a comprehensive action plan and the government had been clearing the dues in phases during the past couple of years in spite of the financial constraints it had been facing. The Finance and Agriculture department officials took up the exercise to ascertain the quantum of loans obtained by farmers, but the process was delayed for about a year. Coupled with this was the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown and demonetisation that adversely impacted the State’s economy, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a release late on Monday evening.
Overcoming the obstacles, the government had ensured waiver of loans up to ₹50,000 abtained by 7.19 lakh farmers incurring ₹1,943.64 crore while mobilising resources for waiving loans of higher quantum. The decision follows the meeting convened by the Chief Minister a few days ago wherein it was decided to complete the loan waiver process in 45 days. Subsequently, Finance Minister T. Harish Rao ensured that a Budget release order was issued to that effect paving the way for the implementation of loan waiver.
The latest decision would ensure that over 16.66 lakh farmers were covered under the loan waiver process so far. According to the CMO, the Finance Minister and department’s special chief secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao worked out modalities for the 45-day deadline fixed by the Chief Minister to implement the loan waiver. Accordingly, review meetings with bankers were held frequently and the first instalment of ₹237.85 crore loans of less than ₹41,000 due from 62,758 farmers were waived.
This was followed by release of amounts to waive loans of 31,339 farmers up to ₹43,000 each with release of ₹126.5 crore.
