Exempted farmers need not repay loans: Amarinder

Wednesday 19th July 2017 08:03 EDT
 
 

CHANDIGARH: In an early notification to implement the recent cabinet decision, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the farmers whose loans have been waived stand immediately exempt from repayment of their debts. In a recently-concluded budget session of the assembly announced total waiver of entire crop loans up to Rs 200,000 for small and marginal farmers, and a flat Rs 200,000 relief for all other marginal farmers, irrespective of their loan amount. Singh had said the move would benefit a total of 1025,000 farmers, including 875,000 farmers who hold land up to 5 acres.

In a meeting of various farmers' organisations held lately, the CM said his government would continue to pressure the Centre for implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, on which all the farmers union had expressed consensus as the “only real long-term solution” to the problems of the peasants.” Singh told them that the process of loan waiver, as announced in the budget, would start within two months, adding that his government was committed to waiving the loans of the farmers, even though the state's debt burden had turned out to be “much higher than anticipated”.

Singh also reaffirmed the state's inability to share river water with other states, claiming that if Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal comes up, then a whopping 10,000 acres of southern part of the state would “go dry”. He advocated continuous dialogue to resolve the festering issue and said Punjab's water would not be allowed to be diverted to other states and a committee under the Finance Minister was working continuously to solve the problem.

Other issues discussed with the unions were, fixation of price of crops on recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report, and compensation of Rs 1000,000 to farmers who committed suicide due to debt, job to one dependent member of family.


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