UP government to waive off cooperative bank loans of 12.61 lakh farmers

Moneycontrol News

After waiving off farm loans of nearly 86 lakh farmers, Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh is planning to waive off cooperative bank loans of 12.61 lakh farmers amounting to 1,893 crore, the Daily News & Analysis reported.

BJP spokesperson Dr. Siddharth Nath Singh said that the state government had signed an agreement with co-operative banks to waive 12.61 lakh farmers’ loans along with activating the frozen bank accounts.

"The government will pay 75 percent of farmers' loans and banks will bear the burden by 25 percent. These loans had already come under the category of NPA (non-performing assets).," Dr Singh said in a statement.

"The state government move will not only benefit farmers but also help cooperative banks reduce their NPA (non-performing assets) and give a boost to the cooperative movement in the state," it said.

In April this year, the UP government had decided to waive off farm loans of upto Rs 1 lakh, which benefitted more than 2.25 crore farmers in the state, and costed the state exchequer nearly Rs 30,000 crore.

The waiver scheme has come under the scanner lately, as reports said that some farmers received refunds amounting to Rs 10, the DNA report added.