The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Former MP wants loan waiver scheme re-implemented

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Former MP wants loan waiver scheme re-implemented

Staff Reporter

Farming is longer remunerative unlike other businesses, he says

All loans below Rs. 50,000 should be adjusted
State Government can compensate lending banks

GUNTUR: Former member of Parliament Yelamanchili Sivaji, who was one of the key members in the implementation of the `Agriculture and Rural Debt Relief Scheme 1990’ has advocated re-introduction of similar scheme in the country to bail out majority of farmers.

If farmer suicides were a reality today it is because farming had become non-remunerative unlike other businesses, said Dr. Sivaji at a press conference here on Wednesday.

An amount of Rs.40,000 crores would be required over a period of three years to give a fresh start to majority of small and marginal farmers in the country.

Plan copy released

Releasing a copy of the comprehensive implementation plan with calculations and a covering letters sent to the Prime Minister and some others in the Union Government, he said that while the previous loan waiver scheme included all kinds of loans up to Rs.10,000 this one should be limited to Rs.50,000 per farmer and only for the crop loan.

Term loans

All term loans could be continued and Union Government must support the scheme by allocating Rs.10,000 crores every year for three years to compensate the lending banks for writing off loans.

This clean slate by July 2008 for all small and marginal farmers would give a new impetus to agriculture sector in the country, he added.

For the loans from cooperative banks the NABARD could be roped in and State Governments bear 50 per cent of the amount to be written off as they were also party to it, he opined.

The cut-off date could be April 1 or 2 and all loans below Rs. 50,000 should be adjusted and farmers made eligible to draw fresh amounts.

All farmers who had suffered damage due to two consecutive bad seasons due to natural calamities or over two years in alternate seasons, should be straightway made eligible and no recovery from family of the borrowing farmers should be considered at all, he said.

The whole process can be implemented in three months time, if the Government announced during budget.

Not feasible

VIJAYAWADA: Mr. Sivaji on Wednesday said the formation of second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) was neither feasible nor possible at the present juncture.

Mr. Sivaji said at a press conference that the constituents of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would not agree to the Congress party’s proposal of forming the second SRC, as it would affect all the parties in one way or the other.

Divisive issue

Many States, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal, were facing the issue of division of their respective States and the proposed SRC would never be the choice of ruling parties there, the former MP said.

Mr. Sivaji said Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand were formed without referring the issue to SRC.

“The Government has failed to implement the recommendations of the first SRC headed by Fazal Ali, which submitted its report in 1955.

When it doesn’t have faith in that report, why should it form another committee?” he asked.

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