Loan waiver for more farmers?

Centre agrees in principle to raise land holding limit

MUMBAI: Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh says the Centre has agreed in principle to relax the eligibility norms so that more farmers in the state benefit from the loan waiver.

At a press conference on Sunday on the eve of the budget session, he said his government had submitted to the Centre that either all loans up to Rs50,000 should be waived, which would benefit 90% of the farmers, or the two-hectare limit should be raised in the case of non-irrigated land. It had agreed in principle to relax the landholding limit, he claimed.

Deshmukh said that since a large chunk of farmers from Vidarbha and Marathwada were not likely to gain from the Centre’s agriculture loan waiver as they hold more than two hectares, though non-irrigated, the state had sought to raise the bar or waive all farm loans up to Rs50,000.

“What we have found out is the Centre’s inclination is towards finding out the equivalence of two hectares of irrigated land to the non-irrigated land which could be five hectares or more. If this is accepted, more farmers from Vidarbha and Marathwada, where farmers either hold non-irrigated land or suffer due to drought, will gain,” said Deshmukh.