Pawar rejects Rahul's demand on loan waiver

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has rejected Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s demand that farm loan waivers be extended to farmers owning more than two hectares.

"We are not in a position to take new responsibilities till the present commitments (the Rs 60,000-crore loan waiver in the new Budget) are implemented," Pawar told Lok Sabha.

Rahul, in a speech in Lok Sabha on March 14, had said the loan waiver must also benefit farmers owning more than two hectares and the land ceiling must be based upon productivity. Farmers who don’t own irrigated lands would lose out if the loan waiver were not extended, he had said.

Pawar told Lok Sabha on Monday that the Government’s priority was to implement the loan waiver among 81 per cent of farmers owning less than 2 hectares.

"Let us first implement the farm loan waiver scheme presented in the Budget and see the results," said Pawar, adding that the government had no scheme to help farmers who taken loans taken from moneylenders.

He also rejected Opposition's claim that farmers were being cheated by the loan waiver scheme, the first installment of which begins on June 1.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, as part of his Budget presented on February 29, announced the Rs 60,000-crore loan waiver to provide relief to farmers from the debt burden that has forced many of them to commit suicide in many parts of the country.

Courtesy:ibnlive.com
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