Punjab to revamp loan waiver scheme

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 22

The much-publicised Crop Loan Waiver Scheme of Capt Amarinder Singh’s government in Punjab  is likely to be disrupted, as the scheme goes back to the drawing board.

The scheme was launched earlier this month, with 46,556 farmers, who have availed of loans from cooperative banks, getting a debt relief of Rs 167.37 crore. In the first phase, the government aimed to cover 1.60 lakh farmers (cooperative bank loanees) and disburse  relief totalling Rs 748 crore. 

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This had to be done by the end of January, which may not happen now. The money had been arranged primarily from the increase in rural development fee and  market fee, which has yielded Rs 600 crore for the government. 

A three-member panel, comprising Additional Chief Secretary (Cooperatives) DP Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vini Mahajan and Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Vishwajit Khanna, met here this evening. It is learnt the members decided to first redress the MLAs’ complaints regarding the implementation of the scheme and then disburse the remaining   relief money.

This amount was to be given to marginal farmer loanees of cooperative banks in  Doaba and Majha districts immediately after the first function in Mansa on January 7. But with Congress MLAs, especially those representing rural constituencies of Mansa, Bathinda, Moga, Faridkot and Muktsar, where the scheme was launched, claiming that rich farmers had been given relief, it was decided to seek self-certification from the beneficiaries. 

Sources said tenant farmers (having small land-holdings but cultivating large ones on lease) left out from the list of beneficiaries may be included too.