Telangana begins implementing crop loan waiver
Hyderabad, Aug 17 : The Telangana government on Tuesday deposited Rs 100.70 crore in the bank accounts of farmers under the crop loan waiver scheme.
Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 of 38,050 farmers were waived on the second day of loan waiver scheme, launched on Monday.
Farm loans to the tune of Rs 2,005 crore will be waived under the scheme. The waiver will benefit 6,06,811 farmers, who had availed crop loans ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000.
Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wants to see farmers relieved from their loan burden.
Noting that the Covid-19 pandemic led to the delay in farm loan waiver, he claimed that Telangana was the only state which procured 100 per cent agriculture produce from farmers.
He said despite the problems, the state government was implementing loan waiver scheme keeping in view the welfare of farmers.
Niranjan Reddy as per the promise, the government will be completing waiver of crop loans up to Rs 50,000 this year. He assured the farmers that in the second phase, loans up to Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh will be waived.
The Chief Minister, in his Independence Day speech, had stated that as per the assurance given during elections, the government has already waived the crop loans, up to Rs 25,000, of three lakh farmers.
He announced that from August 16, crop loans up to Rs 50,000 will be waived for six lakh farmers.
"This process will be completed by the end of this month. With this, total of 9 lakh farmers will be relieved from loan burden. The government is also implementing this loan waiver scheme in a phased manner for the remaining farmers," he said.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, KCR had promised that if the TRS is voted back to power, crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh will be waived. After the TRS retained power, it was estimated that the scheme required Rs 25,000 crore.
Realising that the government can't release the huge amount in one go, it decided to implement the scheme in four phases.