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INLD ridicules Hooda’s statement on loan waiver

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda

CHANDIGARH: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) senior leader and former Haryana Finance Minister Sampat Singh on Sunday ridiculed the statement of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda that the so-called loan waiver scheme of the UPA Government announced in the Union Budget would benefit 11 lakh farmers of Haryana to the tune of Rs.5,000 crore.

In a statement, Mr. Sampat Singh pointed out that in Haryana there were only 3,07,471 account holders who fell in the category of small/marginal farmers and the landless labourers and the total amount “overdue” from them was only Rs.1,067 crore.

He asserted that the loan waiver would only remit just one per cent of the total bank loans outstanding against farmers. He added that official figures showed that in Haryana as on March 31 2007 agricultural loans by banks totaled Rs. 12,144 crore. On the same date loans to small and marginal farmers and landless labourers stood at Rs. 4,475 crore.

He further said that even if the entire overdues including principal and interest of marginal and small farmers were waived off, Haryana farmers would benefit only by about Rs. 135 crore against the total outstanding loans of Rs. 12,144 crore.

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