Tamil Nadu govt waives off cooperative banks-issued crop loans worth Rs 12,000 cr

With assembly elections round the corner, the AIADMK Government in Tamil Nadu on Friday waived off crops loans worth Rs 12,110 crore availed in cooperative banks across the state by over 16.43 lakh farmers.

Making a statement under Rule 110 in the State Assembly, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said his government decided to waive off the loans based on demands from farmers who were affected due to the Covid-19 lockdown and cyclones that hit the Tamil Nadu coast late last year.

He also recalled that his predecessor and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had waived off crop loans worth Rs 5,381.73 crore after assuming power for a second straight term in May 2016. The move, Palaniswami said, benefited 12.02 lakh small farmers in Tamil Nadu.

“Considering the current situation, crop loans availed by 16.43 lakh farmers in cooperative banks in the state with the value of Rs 12,110 crore are being waived off. I am very happy making this announcement,” Palaniswami told the last day of the four-day assembly session.

Palaniswami, who faces an acid test in the April-May assembly elections, projects himself as a “humble farmer” having risen to the top though hailing from a “farmer’s family.” In his speech in the Assembly on Friday, the Chief Minister recalled several initiatives taken by his government for the betterment of farmers.

He also utilized the occasion to criticise arch-rival DMK for “failing to fulfil” promises made during elections. “The DMK, during its campaign in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, said it will take steps to waive off loans of farmers. 38 of their people won the elections but nothing was done,” he added.

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are scheduled in April-May and the AIADMK government has been making a slew of announcements in the past few weeks to woo voters.