Farmers get Rs 10, Rs 215 as loan waiver in UP

lucknow

Updated: Sep 12, 2017 09:19 IST

In a rude shock, farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur were allegedly given loan waiver certificates of Rs Rs 10 and Rs 215 at a function held with much fanfare and presided by state’s labour and employment exchanges minister Mannu Kori.

Shanti Devi of Umri village got a loan waiver of just Rs 10.37 against a loan of Rs 1.55 lakh.

Munni Lal of Maudaha village was given a loan waiver certificate of Rs 215 against his loan of Rs 40,000.

The loan waiver certificates came as a rude shock for the farmers who had been promised waiver on loans up to Rs 1 lakh, and questioned the parameters the government had set.

The Yogi Adityanath government had launched the ‘Krishi Rin Mochan Yojna’ (farm loan waiver scheme) last month and had announced Rs 1 lakh as the upper ceiling for waivers. The scheme was planned to benefit 87 lakh farmers in the state and cost the exchequer Rs 36,000 crore.

A farmer named Shivpal, who had taken a loan of Rs 93,000 from a bank, said the government had waived off merely Rs 20,271, much below his expectations.

There were dozens like him at the function held with much fanfare.

Minister Mannu Kori, who had given away the certificates, termed it as a printing mistake. As the number of complainants grew, he said he would get the matter looked into properly.

“The loan waivers have been given as per rules. If there are discrepancies, we will get it inquired into and act against those responsible,” said Kori, who is minister of labour and employment exchanges.

In a quick tweet, Samajwadi Party state president Naresh Uttam hit out at the BJP government, calling the loan waiver a sham and mockery of farmers. “Waiver of Rs 10 is a blatant mockery,” he said.