Lakhs of UP farmers have reason to smile
24 Nov 2012 5:15 AM IST
Fulfilling another promise made by the Samajwadi Party government during assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday announced a loan waiver package for the agriculture sector to the tune of Rs 1650 crore that would benefit 7.20 lakh small and marginal farmers.
Akhilesh Yadav announcing this in a press conference here, said that the farmers who have taken a principal loan amount of Rs 50,000 from the State Land Development Banks and have paid 10 per cent of the capital amount till March 31,2012, would be eligible for the benefit of the waiver which will cover the remaining principal amount and the interest.
‘The total burden on exchequer would be Rs 1650 crore. We have already sanctioned Rs 500 crore in the budget and the remaining amount will be allotted in the supplementary grant. There will not be any paucity of money to meet our promise,’ he said and added that at least 7.20 lakh farmers would be benefitted by this project.
The CM, however, did not gave any assurance whether the farmers who have taken loans from commercial banks and other financial institutions would be covered under his scheme in near future.
‘In our poll manifesto we had only assured about the waiver of loan of the farmers of state land development bank as they had mortgaged their land for the purpose,’ he said.
The announcement of the government comes just days before the possibility of the UPA-II government announcing pension for the farmers.
Earlier in 2008, the UPA-1 government had waived off loans worth over Rs 7160 crores of 43 million small and marginal farmers of the country.
Unemployment allowance, Kanya Vridhan are also a part of election promises that the Akhilesh Yadav government has successfully lived up to.
Akhilesh Yadav announcing this in a press conference here, said that the farmers who have taken a principal loan amount of Rs 50,000 from the State Land Development Banks and have paid 10 per cent of the capital amount till March 31,2012, would be eligible for the benefit of the waiver which will cover the remaining principal amount and the interest.
‘The total burden on exchequer would be Rs 1650 crore. We have already sanctioned Rs 500 crore in the budget and the remaining amount will be allotted in the supplementary grant. There will not be any paucity of money to meet our promise,’ he said and added that at least 7.20 lakh farmers would be benefitted by this project.
The CM, however, did not gave any assurance whether the farmers who have taken loans from commercial banks and other financial institutions would be covered under his scheme in near future.
‘In our poll manifesto we had only assured about the waiver of loan of the farmers of state land development bank as they had mortgaged their land for the purpose,’ he said.
The announcement of the government comes just days before the possibility of the UPA-II government announcing pension for the farmers.
Earlier in 2008, the UPA-1 government had waived off loans worth over Rs 7160 crores of 43 million small and marginal farmers of the country.
Unemployment allowance, Kanya Vridhan are also a part of election promises that the Akhilesh Yadav government has successfully lived up to.
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