Over 49k found eligible for Phule farm loan waiver

Nagpur: The district administration has identified 49,830 farmers eligible for the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule farm loan waiver scheme and also uploaded the details of around 48,000 on the scheme’s portal.
On Tuesday, district collector Ravindra Thakre said the list of eligible farmers would be displayed at each village from February 21. “The authentication process would start immediately after releasing the list. This will be through biometrics or one time password on mobile phone. In case there are issues with biometrics or no mobile phone, the farmers can process it through the tehsildar. Other issues, if any, will be expedited and farmers need to file objection through the tehsildar and we will hold a hearing soon,” he said.
Thakre said around 474 farmers have not linked their Aadhaar with their bank account, which has stalled disbursal of benefits.
The district collector said absence of Aadhaar details has also affected other financial schemes like the Kisan Sanman Yojana. “In the first instalment, we transferred Rs1,12,615, Rs99,623 in second, Rs68,166 in third and just Rs22,410 in the fourth. Aadhaar linkage became compulsory from third instalment onwards, hence the amount started coming down. We appeal to farmers to link Aadhaar at the earliest,” he said.
The same issue has also held up processing of applications of deceased farmers. “The relatives must submit the Aadhaar number to the bank,” he said.
On Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Thakre said around 1.55 lakh small and marginal farmers have availed different financial services of the government while 1.04 lakh have been provided monetary aid under the Pradhan Mantri Yojana. “Around 51,532 have been unable to get any crop loan in the district,” he said.
For such farmers, the administration has started a special drive from February 8 to 23 to make them aware about the KCC benefits. “The farmers can avail a loan of up to Rs1 lakh without interest and up to Rs3 lakh at 1% interest,” he said.
The credit limit will depend on crop preference, land holding, irrigation facility, pumps and CIBIL score.
Nabard district development manager Maithili Kowe said KCC will act as short term working capital for farmers.
Bank of India’s lead district manager Vijaysingh Bais said the idea is to remove the fear in the minds of small and marginal farmers about this lending method.