Farmers repaying short-term crop loans to get incentive up to Rs 50,000
| Date :21-Sep-2022 |
By Kartik Lokhande
Maharashtra Government has decided to provide incentive up to Rs 50,000 to farmers who have repaid short-term crop loans in full. As per the Government directions, the banks have submitted data of farmers eligible for the scheme for various districts. Once the data is finalised, the Government will release the amount accordingly through online transfer directly to the bank account of eligible beneficiaries.
Maharashtra Government had announced Mahatma Jotirao Phule Shetkari Karjamukti Yojana in the winter session of State Legislature held at Nagpur. The scheme was announced to provide relief to farmers who had availed of crop loan from banks but could not repay it due to drought-like situation from 2015-16 to 2018-19.
As a result, they were ineligible to avail of fresh crop loans. Accordingly, a Government Resolution also was issued on December 27, 2019.
However, the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government could not implement the scheme on ground till the end of financial year 2019-20. Later on, since March 2020, the State and the nation both were reeling under COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of the scheme got deferred. In March 2022, during the budget session of State Legislature at Mumbai, the Government announced incentive up to Rs 50,000/- to farmers repaying short-term crop loans regularly.
The present State Government led by Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis as Deputy Chief Minister, has decided to go for implementation of the incentive scheme under Mahatma Jotirao Phule Shetkari Karjamukti Yojana. Accordingly, it has asked the banks to furnish the details of eligible farmers. As per the eligibility criteria, the farmers who have repaid short-term crop loan in any two of the three financial years -- 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 -- are eligible for the scheme benefit. They should have repaid the loan by June 30 of the next financial year. If the loan amount is less than Rs 50,000/-, the eligible farmers will get incentive equivalent to the amount of the principal of the loan availed of by them. If a farmer has taken short-term crop loan from more than one banks, the total amount of such loans shall be considered and incentive will be provided up to a maximum of Rs 50,000/-.
The farmers who took loan from nationalised, private, rural banks, and District Central Co-operative Bank (DCCB), and multipurpose service co-operative societies will be considered eligible for the scheme. Also, the farmers who got benefit of loan waiver due to crop loss due to floods or natural calamity in 2019 also shall be eligible. If a farmer is dead and his heirs have repaid the loan, then such heirs also will be eligible for incentive scheme.
However, the farmers who have got benefit of loan waiver under Mahatma Jotirao Phule Shetkari Karjamukti Yojana-2019, sitting and former legislators/Members of Parliament/ministers, all the Government/PSU/corporation officials and employees (except Class IV) who draw monthly salary above Rs 25,000/-, those paying tax on income from sources other than agriculture, pensioners drawing pension above Rs 25,000 per month, and officials and office-bearers of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee, co-operative sugar/textile mills, urban co-operative banks, DCCBs, co-operative milk federations will not be eligible for the incentive scheme.
Mohit Gedam, Lead District Manager, Nagpur told ‘The Hitavada’ that the respective banks’ head offices had submitted the relevant data for whole of Maharashtra to the Government. As far as Nagpur district is concerned, he said that major banks had given agricultural loans to 1,47,000 farmers in Nagpur district, Last year, he said, 87,000 farmers maintained ‘regular’ account. That is, these farmers repaid the old loan and took fresh loans. Still, the accurate figure of farmers eligible for the incentive scheme could be arrived at only after finalisation of data following scrutiny based on the parameters of the incentive scheme, he added.