Indications are that the Punjab government would revive the legislation which would help farmers get rid of un-institutionalised loan that they have taken from commission agents.
Loan waiver for small farmers in the Union budget has caught the state govt on the wrong foot
CHANDIGARGH: It is a Catch-22 situation for Punjab. Two days before the budget was presented in the Lok Sabha, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir, who is president of the Akali Dal, organised a massive rally in Delhi for the cause of farmers.
Now, the Badal-led government which derives its strength from farmers, is confused. At the outset the Akali Dal disparaged it as a half-hearted attempt of the Centre to woo farmers, but at the same time the Akalis want to make sure that the Congress does not derive electoral advantage from it.
Indications are that the Punjab government would revive the legislation which would help farmers get rid of un-institutionalised loan that they have taken from commission agents.
In his reaction the chief minister termed the budgetary proposal as a “joke” on the farming community in Punjab. His contention was that a significant chunk of farmers in the state would not benefit from the concession.
Agriculture experts say the state might not even get even 1% of the Rs50,000-crore waiver offered to small and marginal farmers with land holdings up to five acres. “It will amount to only Rs360 crore in Punjab,” said an agriculture economist.
He said out of the total about 10 lakh farming families with operational land holdings in Punjab, marginal farmers comprised 1.23 lakh families and small farmers were 1.73 lakh in number, averaging 29.7% of the total farming population. “This section of farmers have availed loans worth Rs2,822 crore from both non institutional and institutional sources, out of which institutional loans are worth Rs1,799 crore. The bad debt consists of merely Rs360 crore as the loan recovery rate is highest in the state at nearly 80%,” he added.
According to official figures, a marginal farmer has an average loan of Rs 72,000, while a small farmer owes Rs1.12 lakh in loans. This section has also availed loans worth Rs1,023 crore from ‘arhtiyas’ or commission agents.
Caught in this situation the Punjab government is seriously considering revival of a legislation on waiving loans that farmers had raised from private institutions .The proposed legislation was earlier shelved due to pressure from commission agents.
b_ajay@dnaindia.net
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}