NAGAPATTINAM: Finance Minister N Marie Wilson on Saturday said the crop loan waiver announced by the state government recently was in accordance with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms introduced in 2024, which mandate its (waiver) implementation within 45 days.
Speaking to reporters after offering prayers at the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, the minister said the AIADMK government had announced crop loan waivers at the end of its tenure in 2021 and that the subsequent DMK government implemented them in phases over the past five years. He said the new RBI regulations were not in force during the previous regime and that the present government’s decisions were taken in keeping with the revised norms.
The TN government’s crop loan waiver announcement has triggered protests from farmers, who say the relief measures were inadequate and failed to address the full extent of the agrarian distress. While the government announced waivers and partial relief for cooperative crop loans benefiting 14.22 lakh farmers, ryots demand a complete waiver for all farmers irrespective of loan amount, saying the scheme fell short of the TVK’s election promises.
Wilson added that the government would release the white paper on the state’s financial condition within the next two weeks and table the revised financial statement soon, adding that CM C Joseph Vijay would transparently explain the state’s financial position to the public.