The State government has given administrative sanction for release of ₹1,210 crore for implementing the first phase of crop loan waiver scheme – to repay the debt of farmers up to ₹25,000, including the principal amount and interest per family.
In his budget speech, Minister for Finance T. Harish Rao announced in the Legislative Assembly on March 8 that the State government had already made a provision to release ₹1,198 crore towards writing off the debt of farmers up to ₹25,000 during the month of March itself.
Budget release order
Accordingly, the Finance Department issued a budget release order for ₹1,210 crore on March 13.
In the orders issued on Wednesday, Secretary (Agriculture) B. Janardhan Reddy has given administrative sanction for the release of the amount towards meeting the expenditure for the scheme of debt relief to farmers (loan waiver).
It was mentioned in the budget that nearly 5.84 lakh farmers were preliminarily estimated to be covered in the first phase of loan waiver scheme.
The State government has issued guidelines for implementation of the scheme on Tuesday and as part of it, the commercial and cooperative banks have been asked to furnish the details of farmers having debt up to ₹25,000 as on December 11, 2018.
The village-level lists would then be scrutinised at mandal and district-level to avoid duplication as some farmers families avail crop loans from different banks and in different villages since some families would have landholding in more than one village.
Two-week time
Official sources stated that although the government has released the amount required for implementing the first phase of the loan waiver scheme, finalisation of the beneficiaries would consume a minimum of two weeks time.
After finalisation of the beneficiaries, village-wise lists the State Level Bankers Coordination Committee (SLBC) would give clearance for disbursement of cheques, which in all probability is expected to take place only in the month of April.
As decided, the cheques of the loan waiver would be handed over to the beneficiaries concerned personally by the legislators concerned as against the practice of release of money directly to banks to adjust it against the farmers debt.
