The Telangana Congress claimed credit for the release of final instalment of loan waiver by the State government and attributed the move to Congress’s pressure on the government.
“Earlier, three instalments were released at the end of the financial year. The fourth instalment comes at the start of the financial year and days before the TRS plenary. The government was worried with our protests regarding chilli and dal prices,” said TPCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy, while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.
He said even after the release of funds for loan waiver, farmers would be left with a debt of ₹1,200 crore to ₹1,500 crore on the interest accrued over the last three years.
TPCC vice-president Mallu Ravi explained how a woman was left with ₹28,000 loan even after three instalments of fund release while the fourth would not completely waive her loan.
“The Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, must clarify that the State government would be paying the interest, as promised in the Assembly, and no burden, whatsoever, would be passed on to farmers. The bankers should be directed to declare the release of all documents belonging to farmers and issue no-dues certificates,” Mr. Reddy demanded.
The TPCC chief also alleged that about ₹1,000 crore meant for SC and ST plan was diverted to release funds for the fourth instalment.
“With ₹4,000 crore being cleared this time, ₹2,957 crore is being released as Grants-in-Aid under the Scheme for Debt Relief to Farmers. The remaining ₹656.62 crore is from Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and ₹385.90 crore is of Tribal Area Sub-Plan. This diversion of funds is completely illegal and unacceptable,” he said.
The TPCC chief also demanded that the government pay compensation of ₹6 lakh each to the families of nearly 3,000 farmers who committed suicide since June 2014. Further, farmers who lost their crop due to drought and unseasonal rains should also be provided immediate relief. “There is no Market Intervention Fund of ₹1,000 crore as promised to bail out farmers in distress. The government should directly procure chilli at ₹12,000 per quintal,” he said.
Congress’ manifesto
The Telangana Congress seems to be getting into the poll mode with TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announcing that their manifesto would contain a complete loan waiver for farmers in 2019.
