Bhopal: Facing financial crunch, the government has decided to waive farm loan in installments. Chief Minister Kamal Nath wants some part of the amount of farm loan waiver be transferred to bank accounts of maximum number of farmers. The first installment of waiver amount may be in the range of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.
The departments of agriculture and finance have made preparations to send the amount of farm loan waiver in bank accounts of 25 lakh farmers in the first round. Nath intends to send the amount of farm loan waiver in the bank accounts of minimum 35 lakh farmers.
The loan of the farmers, who have taken loan not more than Rs 50,000, will be waived in one go. The second installment of farm loan waiver, for the farmers having loan more than Rs 50,000, will be put after Lok Sabha elections. Finance departments will decide about the loan taken by farmers from the nationalized banks, which have become non-performing assets (NPAs), at the end. Finance department is also in talks with the banks over NPAs and negotiating.
As attempts to get discount on NPAs are going on, the loans which have become NPAs, would not be waived as of now. There are chances that the loans taken by the farmers from cooperative banks would be waived first. Irregularities have come up in loan waiver in cooperative societies. The irregularities would be probed after farm loan waiver process to avoid further problems.
Nath has given deadline of end of February to the officers for transferring money in bank accounts of the farmers eligible for loan waiver. The code of conduct would be effective in the first week of March for Lok Sabha elections. Nath wants that money for farm loan waiver should be put into accounts of farmers before imposition of code of conduct.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath has decided that the lists of the farmers, whose loans would be waived, would be published in newspapers. Nath has instructed officials to complete loan waiver process in February so that the list of farmers, whose loans have been waived, may be published from March 1.
Congress intends to make farm loan waiver as the biggest poll plank in upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Congress leaders would do the work of creating favourable environment for the party through the list of farmers, whose loans have been waived off.
