Farm loan waiver: Cong terms Maharahtra govt plan mere jugglery of numbers

Chavan further said that neither RBI nor NABARD gave any written confirmation on sanctioning loan

Terming as mere jugglery of numbers, the Maharashtra government's decision of waiving farm loans, the state Congress today alleged that the ruling BJP has misled people in the name of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji.

"This is not a blanket loan waiver, which farmers, Shiv Sena and the Opposition parties had demanded. The BJP has merely indulged in jugglery of arithmetic and misled people in the name of Shivaji Maharaj," Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Ashok Chavan told reporters here.

The BJP-led state government on Saturday unveiled a Rs 34,022 crore farm loan waiver scheme, under which debt of up to Rs 1.5 lakh each will be written off, making 40 lakh farmers debt-free. The scheme is named 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krushi Sanman Yojana'.

The Lok Sabha MP from Nanded said that the cap of Rs 1.5 lakh on loan waiver will not serve the purpose of bringing out farmers from financial crisis.

"On top of it, the government has said that for loans over Rs 1.5 lakh, only 25 per cent of the outstanding amount or Rs 1.5 lakh, whichever is less, will be given," Chavan said.

"This means if a farmer has a loan of Rs 1.51 lakh, he will merely get Rs 38,000 as compensation. How will this decision stop farmers' suicides?," he asked.

The former chief minister of Maharashtra further said that neither the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) nor the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have given any written confirmation that they would sanction a loan to the state government.

Chavan said there are several inconsistencies in the numbers provided by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his cabinet colleagues.

"While the CM announced that the loans of 40 lakh farmers will be completely waived, the Co-operation minister (Subhash Deshmukh) publicly said that 36 lakh farmers would be benefited. This is a huge gap," he said.

"Considering the terms and conditions set for availing the monetary compensation, we doubt if the Rs 34,000 crore announced by the government will actually reach the farmers," he added.

Chavan further claimed that the Fadnavis-led government does not enjoy the support of the Centre as there was no financial help provided, unlike in case of Uttar Pradesh.