Jaipur: More than three-and-a-half months have passed after the state government had constituted a high-powered committee under state Water Resources minister Ram Pratap to study various models of farm loan waive off adopted by different states following an agreement with the CPM backed All India Kisan Sabha which had staged an agitation in Sikar on this demand.
But the committee seems to be groping in the dark as it could not come up with any concreate model. So far only the committee sought a suggestion on the Kerala model which had constituted a commission after a waive off of loans in 2006 to consider cases of loan defaulters.
Former CPM MLA Amraram under whose leader ship the farmers in Sikar had launched the agitation said "a team of two ministers and two secretaries of the Rajasthan government had gone to Kerala to study its model. But so far what they have done is seeking suggestions from the committee members on the Kerala model. They have not given any report," he said.
Amraram said Kerala had already waived off the farmers' loans worth Rs 40,000 crore in 2006 and in continuation of that process it had constituted a commission to recommend cases of similar loan defaulters who could not pay up loans could approach the commission.
He alleged that the Rajasthan government is misleading the people with Kerala model. He said first the government waive off the loans and then forms the commission.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress president Sachin Pilot also lashed out at the state government. He accused the state government of breach of promise of waive off of farmers loans of upto Rs 50,000 by harping on the Kerala model now.
He said "under the Kerala model a farmer first had to declare himself as a defaulter and then apply for waive off." He said this would deprive the farmers of any future loans from the banks.
Sources said the state government is toying between the Kerala model of farm loan waivers and a general waiver for farmers below a particular amount.
The Kerala model, which is more targeted, has a commission to examine the claims of a distressed farmer before waiving farm loans. This is done on case-to-case basis. But this system may not give the political dividend the ruling party is eying in an election year.
The system of general waive off, as opposed to Kerala-model, will create an atmosphere in favour of the ruling party. Sources say the announcement of waive off is most likely to be announced in the state budget.
