The State government is planning to immediately provide cash of Rs.50,000 and coupon that can be cashed in six months or one year for the remaining amount to each eligible beneficiary of the crop loan waiver scheme.
Once the banks complete the process of identifying genuine beneficiaries and provide the government with the final list, a thorough scrutiny and final validation would be taken up, official sources said. In case, the bankers hand over the list by September 25 or 26 as promised by them, the government would try to finish the entire process by October 10 and all the details would be put online.
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In the run-up to the elections, the Telugu Desam had promised to waive loans of farmers up to Rs. 1.5 lakh and those of DWACRA women self-help groups up to Rs.1 lakh.
While refusing to hazard a guess on the extent of fake or bogus crop loans taken by borrowers, the sources said there were different types of irregularities. For instance, there have been cases of multiple borrowings on the same land from two or three banks. “We want to come out with concrete figures only after validation,” the sources said.
The plan was to start with the lowest amount. It has been estimated that nearly 40 per cent of the borrowers come under the Rs.50,000 slab rate. In case there were 1,500 accounts in a branch, preference would be given to those in the Rs.50,000 bracket. If that was the case, the immediate outgo for the government would be Rs.10,000 or Rs.11,000 crore. The sources said for the rest of the borrowed amounts ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs. 1 lakh, each farmer would get a coupon that could be cashed at a later date.
The government was also mulling buy-back option for coupons by the corporation proposed to be set up to deal with various aspects of farmers’ welfare. The corporation would buy the coupons and give cash to farmers who prefer to exercise that option.
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