Telangana Govt okays Rs 31K-cr farm loan waiver

Neeraj Mohan

New Delhi, June 22

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has announced a farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers in the state. This initiative is expected to cost the state treasury at least Rs 31,000 crore.

Highlighting the magnitude of the scheme, Reddy said, “The Cabinet has decided to waive farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh. The previous government waived only Rs 28,000 crore in farm loans over a 10-year period, with the cut-off date of December 11, 2018.”

Reddy said, “The government decided to waive loans for the welfare of farmers. The previous government did not keep its promise to the farmers for 10 years. Our government is fulfilling the promise within eight months of coming to power in the state.” The decision has garnered praise from various quarters, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. Calling it a “historic step towards fulfilling the resolve of ‘kisan nyay’ (farmer justice),” Rahul congratulated the farmers of Telangana.

“Congratulations to the farmer families of Telangana! The Congress government has taken a historic step towards fulfilling the commitment of ‘kisan nyay’ by waiving all loans up to Rs 2 lakh, which will free more than 4 million farmer families from debt. What we promised, we have delivered — this is both our intention and habit,” Rahul posted on X.

The details of the loan waiver, including eligibility conditions, will be announced later. To ensure effective implementation, a Cabinet sub-committee, led by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, has been formed.

SKM: Implement Swaminathan report

Hailing the decision, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) said, “We welcome the move of the Telangana Government to fulfil its poll promise….PM Narendra Modi should also fulfil his promises of implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report.”