The Telangana Government has allocated Rs 4,250 crore for the first phase of farm loan waiver scheme. The government has estimated that it would cost Rs 17,000 crore to the exchequer to implement the scheme. It is expected to benefit 36 lakh farmers who had taken loans of Rs one lakh or below before March 31, 2014.
The Group of Ministers, headed by Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, has submitted its report to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao here on Monday.
The mandate of the panel was to prepare the modalities for the implementation of the scheme. Like its peer Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) made a poll promise, offering to waive the loans.
The Telangana Government was considering a few options to implement the scheme. It includes giving the farmers a government to match their loans. This, however, would have resulted in piling up of the dues. The banks have denied loans to the farmers who have not cleared the dues, severely impacting the liquidity position of farmers in the ongoing kharif season.
In the first phase, the Government would directly deposit the amount in the savings accounts of farmers. “I hope this disbursal would prompt the banks to give fresh loans. If they don’t get loans by the month end, they might lose the insurance cover,” Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy said, talking to reporters after submitting the report to the Chief Minister.
He said the GoM would hold a fresh round of talks with the bankers to discuss the roll-out plan.