Madhya Pradesh farmer gets Rs 13 instead of Rs 24,000 as loan waiver

The government, on the other hand, said flaws are rising due to irregularities at the stage of loan disbursal

Latest News: A Madhya Pradesh farmer, Shivlal Kataria, was shocked to see Rs 13 marked against his name, instead of Rs 24,000, on the list of beneficiaries for the farm loan waiver issued by the authorities on Wednesday.

“The state government had promised to waive loans up to Rs 2 lakh. Forms were filled and I was expecting a complete waiver of my loan amount of Rs 23,815. But the list that has come to the panchayat says only Rs 13 have been waived,” he said. Kataria, a resident of Nipania Baijnath village in Agar Malwa district, 120 km north of Indore, was excited when Congress, which made the loan waiver promise before the assembly polls, came to power as he thought it would provide some relief.

“I am an honest farmer. I have been regularly paying my dues. On questioning, the staff said that I did not have loan on me on the date of loan waiver. There are major irregularities in the loan waiver scheme. I have reported the matter to the authorities,” he said. The government, on the other hand, said flaws are rising due to irregularities at the stage of loan disbursal. Cabinet minister Omkar Singh Markam said, “Irregularities which happened at the stage of loan disbursal are now surfacing. We are taking required action.”

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Milk at Rs 50 a litre: Maharashtra farmers demand higher price from govt

State's farmers have been protesting for the past 8 days; loan waiver is a key demand

Maharashtra's farmers have urged the Devendra Fadnavis-led government to ensure realisation from milk at Rs 50 per litre, almost double the price they are currently paid by dairy companies and organised retailers.|

Dairy companies have been paying farmers between Rs 21 and Rs 28 per litre depending upon the supply-demand equations. economy news

Organised dairies, however, sell milk to consumers at Rs 40-50 per litre and unorganised players at Rs 60-70 per litre.

"Prices of animal feed keep rising frequently, which does not get reflected in the milk prices supplied to dairies. So, milk farmers should be paid at least Rs 50 a litre for milk supplied to dairies and organised retailers. Anything below Rs 50 a litre will discourage farmers from milk production," said Balasaheb Bahawudkar, a farmer in Nashik.

The state's farmers have been protesting for the past eight days with the closure of mandis. Farmers have been pouring thousands of litres of milk on the roads in protest of lower prices and the recently announced ban on the sale of animals for slaughtering.(read story)

 

Yogi Adityanath's farm loan waiver: SBI, PNB, Allahabad Bank top exposure

The state government has formed an eight-member committee to implement the decision

 

#LATEST| State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank lead the pack of commercial banks with exposure to the agriculture sector in Uttar Pradesh, where the state government has decided to pay all crop loans owed by small and marginal farmers. 

As of December 2016, nine banks (also including Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda) had extended loans worth Rs 70,046 crore to the agriculture sector in the state. Of this, crop loans were Rs 49,811 crore.

 The state government has formed an eight-member committee under Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar to implement the decision. Sources said the committee would formalise the loan waiver with the banks by April 21. It will also try to find ways for making payment to the banks by May 15, so that farmers will be in a position to avail of crop loans this year. There are 700,000 farmers in the state whose combined Rs 5,630-crore debt has been declared non-performing by the banks; they cannot get new loans.(READ MORE)