JOIN USEnding the month-long uncertainty over loan waver, the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh has announced waiver of farm loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh taken before March 31 2014, benefiting almost 96 per cent of farmers.
“The waiver also includes gold loans taken by the farmers for agricultural purposes but the maximum limit for each family will be Rs 1.5 lakh.
This will benefit those who managed to pay back and those who could not,” Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said following a four-hour marathon meeting of his cabinet at his temporary office, the Lake View Guest house, here.
The waiver has also been extended to 7,60,000 Dwacra groups, with the government agreeing to forego up to Rs 1 lakh per family. Naidu said this would cost the government an additional Rs 7,600 crore.
The quantum of loan waiver for the state’s weavers was not declared as the modalities are yet to be worked out.
Earlier, the Kotaiah Committee, trusted with the task of studying the loan waiver issue and come up with suggestions, submitted its report to the government.
“Now, we have requested the Reserve Bank of India to allow us repay the waived amount in seven years time and, meanwhile, we have to devise ways of increasing our revenues,” Naidu said, adding that the state could get Rs 25,000 crore under FRBM whereas the requirement will be around Rs 37,900 crore.