Punjab Cabinet approves Rs 68 crore loan waiver for Dalit families

Chandigarh: The Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to waive loans amounting Rs 68 crore taken by over 4,000 Dalit families from the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said.

At a cabinet meeting chaired by Mann in Chandigarh, it was decided that debt accrued till March 31, 2020 will be waived.

Addressing the media after the meeting, the chief minister said the state government will waive the debt incurred due to loans taken by Dalit families from the corporation for various purposes, including for opening shops, dairy farming, etc.

The decision will benefit 4,727 beneficiaries, he said.

Mann said Finance Minister Harpal Sigh Cheema in his budget speech this March had promised to waive the debt. With the cabinet approval, the promise will now be fulfilled, he said.

Cheema, who was also at the media briefing, said the debt would include the principal amount and any interest on it, including penal interest. It is a big relief for the SC community, he said.

The minister said the debt had been pending for the past 20 years and added that neither the Congress nor the Akali Dal-BJP governments of the past cared for SC families when they were in power.

Later, an official spokesperson of the chief minister's office stated that the loan waiver covers all loans disbursed by the PSCFC, offering significant relief to SC and Divyangjan (persons with disabilities) loanees.

All 4,727 cases (including 4,685 defaulting loanees and 42 regular loanees) will be covered under this loan waiver scheme.

No due certificates will be issued by the district managers of the PSCFC.

"The full amount of Rs 67.84 crore comprising Rs 30.02 crore in principal, Rs 22.95 crore in interest, and Rs 14.87 crore in penal interest will be reimbursed to the PSCFC by the state government. The cut-off date for calculating the final interest amount will be the date on which the government issues the notification to implement the scheme," said the spokesperson.

Loanees who have previously availed benefits under earlier waiver schemes are also eligible for coverage under this initiative. No recovery proceedings will be initiated against loanees under PSCFC loan regulations post-waiver.

Their accounts will be considered fully settled as of the cut-off date. However, loanees who filed court cases against the Corporation will not be eligible unless they unconditionally withdraw their cases and provide documented proof.

As per the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes constitute 31.94 percent of Punjab's total population. Many members of this community availed loans from PSCFC to establish self-employment ventures aimed at their economic upliftment.

However, some borrowers have been unable to repay their loans due to circumstances beyond their control, leading to defaults, said the spokesperson.

Replying to a question on the drug menace, Mann reiterated the commitment of his government to wipe out this curse from the state and said no one involved in this heinous crime is being spared and severest of severe action is being taken against them.

The chief minister said the state government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against the drug menace and no one indulging in this crime against humanity is being spared.

Even the black sheep amongst the law enforcing agencies are being identified and severest of severe action will be taken against them, he said.

Referring to the anti-drug campaign ''Yudh Nasheyan Virudh', he saids everal villages of the state have been made drug free.

This fight will continue till an ounce of drug is present in the state and every effort is being made to make Punjab free from this scourge, he said.

Replying to another query, Mann said it is ironic that the farmer unions are worried about having a debate with him whereas he is concerned about safeguarding the interests of farmers.

He said paddy transplantation has already begun in the state and the Punjab government has made elaborate arrangements to facilitate farmers.

To another question, Mann said during a recent meeting of the NITI Aayog in Delhi, he had asked the central government to set up colleges and industries in border areas.

It is imperative to give a major push to the development of the border districts of the state that had lagged behind due to several reasons, he stated.

Mann said he also flagged the issue of problems being faced by farmers of the state having their land between the International border and the fence.

He reiterated that the state has no spare water to share with any other state adding that even a single drop of water will not be given to anyone.

He said most of the blocks of the state are over exploited and the groundwater situation in the state is very grim.

He demanded that water agreements should be reviewed after every 25 years.

Mann again demanded reconstitution of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

He said 3,000 posts of Punjab's quota have not been deliberately filled by the BBMB so as to "weaken" the state's claim over the waters.