Mumbai: Money under the farm loan waiver scheme will be deposited in farmers’ bank accounts from Monday, State Co-operation Minister Subhash Deshmukh said on Sunday. “The Diwali holidays delayed the transfer of money into farmers’ bank accounts. From Monday, farmers will see the money deposited in their accounts,” he said.
The State government has asked banks to settle farmers’ outstanding loans using the amounts deposited in individual accounts and initiate the procedure to issue them ‘loan-clear’ certificates, a senior Co-operation Department officer said. He added that farmers can avail of fresh loans for the next crop.
The State government had said while announcing the farm loan waiver scheme in June that of the 89 lakh farmers who will benefit, some 44 lakh owe less than ₹1.5 lakh each to the banks. The ceiling for the loan waiver has been raised from the initial ₹1 lakh to ₹1.5 lakh. “It is a ₹34,000-crore loan waiver package and we are trying to get its benefits to as many farmers as possible,” Mr. Deshmukh said.
