'Govt to bear loan liability of farmers who committed suicide'

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today said that the state government will bear the liability of the outstanding loans of the farmers who have committed suicide in recent years.
"As far as those (farmers) who have committed suicides, their total outstanding (loans) will be borne by the government," Singh told reporters here.
He said that the Congress government was committed to bail out the beleaguered farming community from the loan burden.
Singh also said that 18.5 lakh families in Punjab were dependent on farming, out of which 10.25 lakh have been covered under the state government's debt waiver scheme announced recently.

"We have made a provision of Rs 1,500 crore in the budget during this fiscal. We have told the farmers that they need not worry about the loans as we will take care of them. It will be between the state government and the banks," he said.