In what can be described as a response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent criticism over farm loan waiver, the Congress-JD(S) coalition government on Monday said the government has released a total sum of ₹7,417 crore to waive commercial and cooperative crop loans taken by 15.5 lakh farmers in the State.
Mr. Modi, at an election rally in Chitradurga recently, had claimed that he, the chowkidar, had done what was promised, but the Congress-JD(S) government had not walked the talk on farm loan waiver.
According to Munish Moudgil, Karnataka Commissioner, Survey and Settlements and Land Records, the government has released ₹3,929 crore to waive loans borrowed by 7.49 lakh farmers from commercial banks. “A list of another 1.5 lakh farmers, who have borrowed crop loans to the tune of ₹900 crore, is ready and will be released after the Election Commission announces the results of the Lok Sabha polls on May 23,” said Mr. Moudgil.
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He also said that cooperative-sector crop loan relief to the tune of ₹3,488 crore, for 8.1 lakh farmers, has already been released.
The State government’s farm loan waiver scheme was stalled with the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections coming into force. The Election Commission’s decision was based on the opinion that unlike other schemes announced in the State Budget, the loan waiver scheme entailed cash transfer to beneficiaries, which could sway them in the weeks before polling. The ECI indicated to the government to stop the transfer of money to farmers’ accounts after the government sought its opinion on the issue. The State was told to put off payments till the end of the election process.
The scheme entails waiving crop loans running up to ₹1 lakh taken from cooperative banks and ₹2 lakh taken from commercial banks.
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