Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched a Rs 8,500 crore farm loan waiver scheme on Thursday. The chief minister distributed loan waiver certificates worth up to Rs 50,000 each to farmers at an event in Banswara city, the Hindustan Times reported.
Raje also distributed Rs 50,000 each as new loans to several farmers. The chief minister claimed that hers was the first government in the state that had waived off crop loans up to Rs 50,000, whereas the last two governments at the Centre had pardoned farm loans of up to Rs 10,000 only.
Raje said the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state had earlier waived off pending interest and penalty on overdue loan for borrowings by small and marginal farmers till September 30, 2017.
She also claimed that Rajasthan was progressing towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of doubling farm incomes by 2022, The Indian Express reported. “For the first time, we have purchased crops worth Rs 8,900 crore at support price,” Raje said. “By the end of this year, we would have given interest-free loans worth up to Rs 80,000 crore, which would be the highest in the country.”
The chief minister also said that the state had set up a farm loan relief commission, where debt-ridden farmers can put up their claims.
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