28L Haryana farmers under ₹60K Cr agri loan burden
Kurukshetra district has an outstanding loan of ₹3,628 crore, while Bhiwani farmers owe ₹3,696 crore. In Ambala, the unpaid agriculture loan amount stands at ₹2,716 crore
The farmers in Haryana owe a staggering ₹60,060 crore in outstanding agricultural loans as of December 31, 2024, affecting 27.71 lakh agriculturists across the state, the BJP government informed the assembly on Wednesday in response to a question raised by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Aditya Devilal.
According to the data, Sirsa district has the highest outstanding agricultural debt, with farmers there owing ₹6,102 crore.
Hisar follows closely with ₹5,873 crore in unpaid loans, while Karnal ranks third with an outstanding amount of ₹4,849 crore. Other districts with a significant debt burden include Fatehabad, where farmers owe ₹4,241 crore, Kaithal with ₹4,023 crore, and Jind, where the outstanding amount stands at ₹3,957 crore.
Kurukshetra district has an outstanding loan of ₹3,628 crore, while Bhiwani farmers owe ₹3,696 crore. In Ambala, the unpaid agriculture loan amount stands at ₹2,716 crore, slightly ahead of Yamunanagar, where farmers owe ₹2,766 crore. Sonepat farmers have an outstanding debt of ₹2,461 crore, whereas Panipat farmers owe ₹2,124 crore. The districts of Rohtak and Jhajjar have outstanding amounts of ₹1,946 crore and ₹1,929 crore, respectively.
Rewari’s outstanding agricultural loan amount stands at ₹1,712 crore, and Palwal follows closely with ₹1,709 crore. In Mahendragarh, farmers owe ₹1,892 crore, while in Nuh, the outstanding amount is ₹1,145 crore. Gurugram’s debt burden is comparatively lower at ₹842 crore, while Charkhi Dadri has an unpaid loan of ₹1,302 crore. The lowest outstanding agricultural loan amount in the state is recorded in Faridabad at ₹533 crore. Panchkula also has a relatively low outstanding loan amount of ₹614 crore.
The INLD’s Dabwali MLA Aditya Devilal had asked if any agriculture loan is lying outstanding towards the farmers of the state at present and the extent of total outstanding amount of agriculture loan.
“The amount of agriculture loan outstanding as of December 31, 2024, is ₹60,060 crore against 27,71,676 farmers,” the government said in a written reply.
Meanwhile, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini informed the House that crop loans up to ₹1.5 lakh are given to farmers through Harco bank and other cooperative banks at an interest rate of 7% of which Haryana government bears 4% of the interest while the Centre covers 3%.
He said farmers regularly keep borrowing loans for crops and repaying too in due course of time. Tractors, cultivators, harvesters, land levelling and other agriculture tools are used by farmers on which they take medium term loan and repay it. Saini also touched upon various steps taken by the government for farmers’ welfare including making water available till tail ends. He said under the ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ scheme, farmers will now receive an incentive of ₹8,000 per acre for switching over from paddy to alternative crops, an increase from the previous ₹7,000 per acre.
In addition, crop loans are being provided to farmers through cooperative banks at a zero percent interest rate. He said that through the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, farmers are encouraged to adopt drip and sprinkler irrigation systems with the help of subsidies.
Haryana govt taking steps to curb mushrooming of illegal colonies
Haryana government assured the assembly that the department of town and country planning is taking effective steps to control the mushrooming of unauthorised colonies in the urban areas of the State. After issuance of notices, such colonies are not only demolished, but complaints for lodging of FIR are also sent to Police from time to time, government said in response to a question regarding the steps being taken to control the mushrooming of unauthorised colony in different cities of the State.
In a written reply the government said that since January 1, 2015, the department has detected a total of 6,904 unauthorised colonies in the State, out of which 3,937 colonies were demolished. The complaints for lodging FIR against 1,879 violators have been sent to Police Department till March 10, 2025, the government said adding that 2,145 colonies were also regularised in past 10 years.
There will be no damaged roads six months from now: Saini
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini Wednesday announced in the assembly that all the roads in the state will be renovated in the coming six months. The chief minister made this announcement in response to a question raised by the opposition regarding the repair of roads during the ongoing budget session in the Haryana assembly here on Wednesday.
The chief minister assured that no damaged road will remain in the state in the next six months. The state government will renovate all the roads to provide quality infrastructure to the citizens and further accelerate the pace of development.
Haryana has selected 561 doctors to be appointed soon: Health minister
Haryana health minister, Arti Singh Rao, said that the state government has recently selected 561 doctors, and their appointments will be made soon. These steps aim to address the shortage of doctors in all civil hospitals across the state. Additionally, the government will work to resolve the shortage of medical equipment in these hospitals, ensuring that patients can access affordable and quality healthcare services at government facilities.
Rao said that service rules of pharmacists are being amended, after which the vacant posts of pharmacists will be filled through Haryana Staff Selection Commission.
The health minister stated that the process of revising the service rules for pharmacists is underway.