Centre not to help states with farm loan waivers

Amid growing protests by farmers demanding loan waivers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday ruled out any help from the Centre on farm loan write-offs to states.

“I have already made the position clear that states which want to go for these kind of schemes will have to generate them from their own resources. Beyond that, as the central government, I have nothing to say,” Jaitley told reporters.

On Sunday, the BJP government in Maharashtra announced a loan waiver for over one crore farmers who have land holdings of less than five acres.

According to estimates, it would cost the state exchequer Rs 30,000 crore.

Farmers in Maharashtra resorted to violent protests demanding loan write-offs, free electricity, grants for irrigation and pension for farmers above 60 years. Neighbouring Madhya Pradesh was also on the boil after five farmers were killed in police firing last week.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced crop loan write-offs of not more than Rs 1 lakh,  costing the exchequer almost Rs 36,000 crore.

Recently, drought-hit farmers of Tamil Nadu held agitations in the national capital for more than a month, demanding a Rs 40,000-crore package. Following this, the Centre released Rs 1,712 crore to the state.