Ranchi: Amid the ongoing farmers’ stir in the state against the Centre’s new farm laws, the Jharkhand government is gearing up to roll out a farm loan waiver scheme, which was promised in its election manifesto, from January next year.
State government officials said the scheme, which is likely to provide loan waivers up to Rs 50,000 to each farmer, is expected to be formally launched by chief minister Hemant Soren on December 29, the day on which his government will complete one year in office.
Agriculture secretary Abu Bakr Siddique, however, said the cap on the loan waiver is awaiting the cabinet’s nod.
Talking to TOI on Saturday, he Siddique said, “A high-powered committee, which was set up to work out modalities for the scheme has recommended waivers up to Rs 50,000. This proposal is now being sent to the cabinet for its approval. We are targeting to launch it on December 29.”
He further said about 13 lakh farmers are expected to get benefits from the scheme initially. “The number may vary depending on the amount that will be finalized for the waiver. But going by the recommendation of the committee, about 13 lakh farmers are likely to get the benefits initially. We are currently fine-tuning the modalities for its actual rollout,” Siddique said.
The government has earmarked funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore for the scheme in ongoing fiscal. Agriculture department figures suggest that between 2014 and 2019, about eight lakh state farmers took loans worth around Rs 7,000 crore. Of the total amount, many have turned into non-performing assets (NPA).
Siddique said the government’s priority is to provide waivers to the farmers who have loans are still operational. “To start with, waivers will be extended only to standard loans, which means the loans that are currently operational but farmers are finding it difficult to pay,” he said, adding that the department is currently busy seeding Aadhaar details of the farmers with their bank accounts by updating their KYC for proper tracking and smooth implementation of the scheme after its rollout.
The secretary further said about 32 lakh farmers are currently covered under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana. “Of them, we have updated the KYC of 14 lakh farmers while the remaining is underway,” he said.
Agriculture minister Badal Patralekh, on the other hand, said the scheme was one of the promises made to the electorate during last year’s assembly polls and the government is inching towards making it a reality soon. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the scheme is delayed but we are now almost set to begin its rollout very soon through our own funds. While the Centre is trying to outsource the agriculture sector through its anti-farmer laws, which it brought in recently, the Jharkhand government is going the extra mile to safeguard our annadatas,” he said.