Are loan waivers the only way to help farmers?
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday assured a complete farm loan waiver in the state.
Thackeray’s statement came a day after the Shiv Sena- led government formally approved a loan waiver scheme under which short-term crop loan up to Rs 2 lakh taken by farmers between April 1, 2015-March 31, 2019, will be written off.
Under the scheme, short-term restructured crop loan arrears up to September 30, 2019, will also be waived.
“We have waived loans worth ₹2 lakh (per farmer) as immediate relief to cultivators. But we will also make sure that their entire (crop) loan is waived,” Thackeray said.
He was addressing the annual general meeting of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute here. NCP president Sharad Pawar, who is chairman of the institute, was also present.
During his speech, Thackeray took a dig at former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his statement that the BJP was the single largest party in the Maharashtra assembly.
“Sharad Pawar has taught us how to raise farm productivity and also how to form a government with less member of MLAs in the legislative assembly,” Thackeray, who is also Shiv Sena president, quipped.
The BJP and the Sena fought the October 21 assembly polls together, but their alliance collapsed after the latter walked out and joined hands with the Congress and the NCP.
The three parties then formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in November-end. Pawar is considered the chief architect of the ruling alliance, the first such political arrangement at the state-level in Maharashtra’s history.
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