Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday asked the central government to come out with a loan waiver for Punjab farmers who were “forced into indebtedness in the service of the nation”. The farmers in Punjab, according to SAD leader, are the third most indebted agriculturists in the country.
The SAD president had asked a question in Parliament on Monday, requesting minister of state for finance to provide details of the average indebtedness of farmers in different states. “Whether any study had been conducted to assess the level of indebtedness in the last two years and whether the union government had any plan to waive off debts of farmers in Punjab,” he added.
The minister of state for finance Dr Bhagwat Karad, submitted details of indebtedness of farmers across the country, while citing the Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019.
The report states that farmers in Punjab are the third most indebtedness cultivators in the country with an average loan of ₹ 2.03 lakh and are only surpassed by farmers of Kerala who have an average loan of ₹ 2.42 lakh and those of Andhra Pradesh with an average loan of ₹2.45 lakh. Farmers of neighbouring Haryana have an average loan of ₹1.82 lakh and the national indebtedness figure is ₹74,000 per farmer.
Badal said despite the level of indebtedness in Punjab, the Union government had stated in Parliament that it did not have any proposal to waive of loans of Punjab farmers. “This is a disservice to the hardworking farmers of Punjab who have got indebted while providing foodgrains to the national food basket. In the process ,the farmers have depleted their ground water reserves and now face a bleak future. They should be encouraged to diversify from the wheat-paddy cycle by waiving-off their loans besides giving them appropriate incentives,” he further said.
{{/usCountry}}Badal said despite the level of indebtedness in Punjab, the Union government had stated in Parliament that it did not have any proposal to waive of loans of Punjab farmers. “This is a disservice to the hardworking farmers of Punjab who have got indebted while providing foodgrains to the national food basket. In the process ,the farmers have depleted their ground water reserves and now face a bleak future. They should be encouraged to diversify from the wheat-paddy cycle by waiving-off their loans besides giving them appropriate incentives,” he further said.
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