HYDERABAD: Finance Minister T Harish Rao directed the officials to take immediate steps to write off crop loans of 1.6 lakh farmers, who were yet to receive the benefits under the loan waiver scheme. At a review meeting here on Monday, Harish Rao said that crop loans of 18.79 lakh farmers totalling Rs 9,654 crore have been waived under the scheme. “17.15 lakh farmers have already received the crop loan waiver funds in their accounts. Around 1.6 lakh farmers are yet to receive the benefits,” he said.
The finance minister claimed that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is the only leader in the country who has successfully executed farmer loan waivers twice, making Telangana the only State to achieve this milestone.
The meeting identified three solutions to waive crop loans of the rest of the farmers. They include identification of Rythu Bandhu accounts through Aadhaar numbers to disburse the loan waiver funds, benefiting around one lakh additional recipients, collaboration with banks and the NPCI to streamline and expedite the process and ensuring that funds reach approximately 50,000 farmers within three days.
The meeting directed the bankers to set up toll-free numbers, enabling the farmers to raise their issues, if any relating to crop loan waiver. Banks will be encouraged to establish a dedicated grievance cell at the State level to swiftly resolve loan waiver-related issues. An appointed officer’s contact information will be provided to facilitate communication with affected farmers. If issues still persist, a nodal officer will be designated at the district level through the agriculture department to resolve the issues.
Statistics indicated that 35 per cent of loan waiver recipients have been sanctioned new loans so far. By the end of this month, a total of 18.79 lakh farmers are expected to complete their crop loan renewals, with the Rs 9,654 crore waived by the government now being reinvested in the form of new loans.