Agencies
New Delhi, May 23:
The government has brought large farmers into the ambit of its farm loan waiver scheme by expanding the package by nearly 20 per cent to Rs 71,600 crore, a demand strongly voiced by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Under the modified scheme, all farmers, including big ones, in 237 identified districts will get a debt relief of 25 per cent of the outstanding amount or Rs 20,000, whichever is higher, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet, which approved the guidelines.
There will be complete loan waiver for small and marginal farmers, whether they are in identified districts or other areas, he added.
The scheme, which will benefit over four crore small and marginal and other large farmers, will cost the exchequer a total of Rs 71,680 crore as per unaudited estimates as against the original estimate of Rs 60,000 crore, Chidambaram said.
"Small and marginal farmers will get full debt waiver while 60-65 per cent of large farmers also get full debt waiver. This is why the cost of the scheme has increased," he said.
While participating in the Budget discussion, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had urged the government to widen the ambit of the scheme to cover farmers with larger acreage in dryland areas.
The debt waiver and relief scheme will be implemented by the end of the next month, Chidambaram said, adding that instructions would be issued to all bank branches to prepare a list of beneficiary farmers for display at their respective premises.
Chidambaram said the number of small and marginal farmers who are expected to benefit from the scheme has been revised to 3.69 crore as against the initial estimate of 3 crore, while the number of other farmers have been scaled down to 59.75 lakh from one crore.
Explaining the provisions of the scheme, the finance minister said all direct agricultural loans, including crop loans and investment credit for agriculture and allied activities given to farmers between 31st March 1997 and March 2007 (which have remained unpaid till February 2008) will be covered.
The small farmers will include those who have a land holding of up to one hectare (2.5 acres), while the marginal farmers would be those with land holding between 1-2 hectares.
Farmers having a land holding of more than 2 hectares will get a one time settlement (OTS) rebate of 25 per cent subject to the condition that he pays the remaining amount in three installments by 30th June 2009. No interest will be charged on the outstanding amount.
In case the land holding falls in the 237 identified dryland districts, the large farmers will get a benefit of Rs 20,000 or 25 per cent of the outstanding amount.
Chidambaram said the 237 districts have been identified on the basis of government schemes like drought prone area programme (DPAP), desert development programme (DPP) and Prime Minister's Special Relief Programme.
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