Loan waiver: ₹5,653 crore sent to 8.5L farmers in two weeks

More than three months after the process of farm loan waiver disbursement was paused owing to the cash-crunch in the wake of the lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19

More than three months after the process of farm loan waiver disbursement was paused owing to the cash-crunch in the wake of the lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, the state government disbursed ₹5,653 crore to about 8.5 lakh farmers in the past two weeks.

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The remaining 5.52 lakh eligible farmers are expected to get the amount over the next couple of weeks. Including the disbursement done earlier in February and March, the total disbursement has touched ₹17,646 crore covering 27.38 lakh farmers.

Owing to the drop in revenue receipts, two schemes announced for farmers — one for those with pending loan of more than ₹2 lakh and another for those who pay loans regularly — have been put on hold.

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress announced loan waiver to farmers with pending amount of less than ₹2 lakh in December. The disbursal for the same began in the last week of February after verification of loan accounts. The state government identified 32.9 lakh eligible farmers for the scheme with outstanding loans worth ₹21,467 crore.

After the disbursal of ₹11,993 crore to about 19 lakh eligible farmers, the scheme was put on hold after the nationwide lockdown was announced in view of Covid-19, in March.

However, as revenue receipts improved in June, the scheme was resumed and ₹5,653 crore has been disbursed since.

“We are disbursing the loan waiver to all the remaining farmers so that they become eligible for fresh farm loans during the ongoing kharif season. We expect all remaining farmers to complete their authentication by visiting the local centres or banks in the next few days. The scheme has been implemented in record time after it was launched,” said Abha Shukla, principal secretary, cooperation department.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed all the district collectors to complete the disbursement at the earliest.

State government had, on March 6, also announced a one-time settlement scheme for farmers who have pending loans of more than ₹2 lakh wherein it offered to pay ₹2 lakh once the remaining amount was repaid by farmers.

In another scheme, the government had announced an incentive of up to ₹50,000 for farmers who are repaying loans regularly.

Deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar had announced that the government may incur ₹15,000 crore more for the implementation of these two schemes. However, in the wake of revenue losses, these schemes have been put on hold. “The decision about their implementation is unlikely to be done anytime soon,” said an official from the finance department.