State government will spend Rs.23,000 crore in the next four years to implement debt redemption scheme benefiting 33 lakh farmers in the State, said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu here on Monday.
“This is the highest ever amount spent by any State in the country under debt relief. Despite financial constraints, the Telugu Desam government implemented the scheme to free farmers from debt burden of up to Rs.1.5 lakh each. I took it up as a challenge and delivered it against all odds and consistent misleading campaign by the Opposition party,” Mr. Naidu said in the Assembly here on Monday.
Giving a reply to the discussion on Debt Redemption scheme to farmers under Rule 344 in the Assembly, Mr. Naidu said of a total of 83 lakh accounts of farmers registered by the banks, 51.45 lakh accounts were found eligible for debt relief under phase I and II.
The scheme as per the guidelines benefited 98 per cent of farmers in the State and so far Rs.4,664 crore was released under the first phase and another Rs.2,176 crore was being released in the second phase during the current financial year.
The list of beneficiaries would be displayed in the notice boards at every village along with their Aadhar, ration card or voter card ID details.
Farmers with any complaints could bring their grievances to the grievance redressal cell for resolution within three months.
The government provided debt relief at one go if the loan amount was below Rs.50,000 freeing 22 lakh farmers from the debt burden.
The Chief Minister urged the farmers to renew their outstanding loan accounts to bring down their interest burden to four per cent. It would benefit them as they could also earn six per cent additional interest from the bonds issued by the government.
Mr. Naidu said he decided to implement debt relief after witnessing the heart rending plight of farmers during his padayatra across 16 districts before elections. Caught in the debt trap and with no remunerative prices, crop insurance, input subsidy, farmers were resorting to suicides while youth were abandoning farming. “ I resolved then to bring youth back to agriculture by making it profitable and launched primary mission,” he said.
Of Rs.23,000 crore debt relief, Rs.2,000 crore would be for horticulture farmers who borrowed upto Rs.10,000 per acre with a ceiling of five acres. Another Rs.9,000 crore would be released soon for DWCRA women to waive loans upto Rs.10,000.
