HYDERABAD: Citing reports that some banks have withheld accounts of over 31 lakh farmers across the State for non-payment of the loan dues Nalgonda MP and former TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy condemned the TRS government for not honouring its promise of waiving crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
Addressing a series of meetings in different villages in the Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, Uttam slammed Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for not honouring the promise of waiving crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh even after being in power for over eight years. The Congress leader said that with less than a fortnight left for the commencement of the Kharif season, bank accounts of lakhs of farmers who took crop loans in the past have reportedly been suspended.
“It means that these farmers would not be eligible for fresh crop loans for the Kharif season,” Uttam said, recalling that the TRS government had promised in 2018 Assembly elections that it would waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
“So far, only two instalments have been cleared. While loans up to Rs 25,000 were waived in 2020, loans up to Rs 37,000 were cleared in August 2021. Of the 36.68 lakh farmers eligible for loan waiver up to Rs 1 lakh, only 5.66 lakh have benefited and bank accounts of the remaining 31.02 lakh have been kept on hold due to non-payment,” Uttam said.
Figures speak
■ Rs 20,164.20 crore allocated in annual budgets since 2018 for waiver of crop loans, but the State government has released only Rs 1,171.38 crore in two instalments
■ Of the 36.68 lakh farmers eligible for loan waiver up to Rs 1 lakh, only 5.66 lakh have benefited, Uttam said