Lion’s share of loan waiver for bypoll-bound Shahkot

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 13

Farmers of the bypoll-bound Shahkot Assembly constituency will be among the major beneficiaries under the farm loan waiver scheme during a function to be presided over by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh here tomorrow.

Of the Rs 57.7-crore loan waiver for Jalandhar district, about Rs 29 crore is for Shahkot. There are 7,625 farmers from the district whose loans from cooperative banks would be waived tomorrow, including over 3,000 from this Assembly segment.

The share of other rural constituencies of Jalandhar — Adampur, Phillaur, Nakodar and Kartarpur — has been drastically cut. Officials posted in the district refused to give the constituency-wise breakdown. Akali MLAs Pawan Tinu (Adampur) and Baldev Khaira (Phillaur) were not aware of the number of beneficiaries and the amount being distributed in their areas.

“We have not been taken into confidence by officials. We have got to know that most farmers from our constituencies have been left out. The Congress wants to buy votes in Shahkot, an Akali citadel. We have received reports that they diverted SC scholarship funds — meant for students across Punjab — for Gurdaspur ahead of the Lok Sabha byelection last year,” said Tinu. Former Akali minister Ajit Singh Kohar, who passed away recently, had won five times in a row from the area.

There are 15-16 cooperative societies in Shahkot. The main society at Shahkot town has 416 members and will get waiver of Rs 3.69 crore tomorrow. 

DC Varinder Sharma said, “As far as I know, there is no special criterion for Shahkot. All farmers whose cases meet the norms will get waiver sooner or later.”

CM to give Rs 162-cr relief certificates today 

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will give debt relief worth Rs 162 crore on Wednesday to over 29,000 farmers of five districts — Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Ferozepur and Fazilka. SAD leaders have announced to hand over a memorandum on debt waiver to the CM, while AAP leaders plan to show him black flags.