Punjab Budget: Govt to waive farm loans of 1.13 lakh farmers; Rs 7,180 crore power subsidy announced

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 8

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Monday presented the state budget for the financial year 2021-22 in the state assembly.

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For the agriculture sector, Badal announced the following schemes:

Govt to waive farm loans, provide power subsidy 

• The government will waive Rs 1,186 crore of 1.13 lakh farmers and Rs 526 crore of landless farmers in the next phase, under the crop loan waiver scheme in 2021-22, as per the budget speech.
• Rs 7,180 crore to go as free power subsidy for farmers
  

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New umbrella programme ‘Kamyaab Kisan Khushaal Punjab’ launched

• Under new scheme, a centre of excellence for vegetables to be set up at Fazilka; a post-graduate institute of horticulture research to be set up at Amritsar; mobile vending carts to be provided to farmers.
• Under this scheme, Rs 3,780 crore to be spent in the next three years and Rs 1,104 crore allocated for 2021-22.

Agri schemes to mitigate risk of horticulture farmers, crop diversification

• To mitigate the risk of horticulture farmers, two schemes announced for fixing a base price for horticulture crops and payment of deficiency price as compensation
• Special emphasis on horticulture as Rs 361 crore allocated for 2021-22

29 new schemes for improving canal systems 

Rs 897 crore proposed for strengthening the canal irrigation system

Other schemes

• Agricultural Marketing Innovation Research and Intelligence Centre announced at Mohali
• Rs 200 crore set aside by for crop diversification
• Agriculture Development Bureaus to be set up in each district
• A new scheme launched for monitoring water quality for arsenic affected villages

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