Rajasthan extends crop loan waiver to all farmers

Yash Goyal

Jaipur, March 6

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday announced to extend crop loan waiver scheme to all farmers who had availed loans of up to Rs 50,000 from cooperative banks. 

Meanwhile, in a big relief to private vehicles, the CM announced that there will be no toll tax levy on the state highways effective April 1, 2018.

Defending the Finance Bill 2018-19 and Appropriation Bill after passing of demands for grants of 13 departments, the Chief Minister said all farmers regardless of categories will get the benefit of loan wavier scheme under the Cooperative Banks for one time.

Creating a minor uproar, the Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi demanded that farmers who have taken loan from any bank should be given waiver. The CM overlooked the demand saying the previous UPA government had though waived crop loan worth Rs 70,000 crore aross the country, of which Rajasthan got a meagre relief of Rs 800 to Rs 4,000 crore.

Raje also announced that farmers having a Vigilance Checking Report (VCR) and fine by the power corporations over excess power consumption would be charged only 10 per cent of the VCR demand by June 31, 2018. Till now the suffering farmers had to pay the VCR bills by 50 per cent. 

In her budget presentation on February 18, the CM had announced a one-time crop loan wavier of up to Rs 50,000 for small and marginal farmers and land revenue exemption. The waiver would be applicable to overdue and oustanding category of short term loans and the state government would bear a burden of Rs 8,000 crore and will benefit about 20 lakh peasants. 

Amraram, vice-president of Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, told The Tribune, "It was another success of farmers' agitation. The CM should have covered all commercial banks under loan waiver."