Loan waiver scheme a flop: Congress

More  than 50 per cent farmers are yet to get benefits of the Rs 34,000 loan waiver scheme announced by the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra,  the state Congress claimed.

"The claims that they gave the country's biggest loan waiver worth Rs 34,000 crore to 89 lakh farmers has proved to be false...the scheme has flopped," MPCC general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.

Sawant said it has been 27 months since the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Samman Yojana has been announced but lakhs of farmers have been left out.

After the final number of beneficiaries under the scheme was released the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Commitee's submissions that the names of several farmers have been excluded from the final list have now been proved right,  he said.

As per the latest data, as on August 31,2019,  a total of 44, 04,147 farmers have received a loan waiver worth Rs 18,761 crore. 

"This means that nearly 45 lakh farmers are still excluded under the scheme and are yet to get their loans waived," Sawant noted.

Under the scheme,  4,26,588 farmers have been given Rs 2,629 crore. 

Nearly 6 lakh eligible farmers have not yet received the benefits of the scheme. 

The government had announced that 10,44,279 farmers will be covered under the scheme and for which a budget provision of Rs 7,290 crore was finalised,  he claimed.

In a surprising move,  as per the green list finalised by the state government, a total of 55,60,896 farmers were found to be eligible for which Rs 26,456 crore was to be required. 

Even as per this list, of the 89 lakh farmers, nearly 34 lakh have been excluded from the scheme. 

So far 44, 04,147 farmers has received Rs 18,761 crore in their bank accounts which means that nearly 11 lakh farmers who were part of the green list have not received the loan waiver which would cost the government Rs 8,000 crore more. 

"The way this government has excluded the farmers from the scheme is an indicator of their uncompassionate and insensitive nature. Even after 27 months the state government has through different ways ensured that only a few farmers get the benefit of the scheme," he said.

Despite blaming the banks for the. mismanagement in the scheme,  chief minister has not lodged a complaint with the Reserve Bank of India against the banks,  he added.