Thinking about farm loan waiver, never said won't do it: CM Fadnavis

Mumbai/Nagpur, Oct 29 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government was considering a farm loan waiver, and never said it would not write off farm loans.  

He was reacting to the demand made by Prahar Janshakti Sanghatana chief and former minister Bachchu Kadu during the ongoing protests, seeking a farm loan waiver.

Kadu, along with various farmed organisations, is holding a protest on the Nagpur-Hyderabad highway and has also blocked other highways and key roads and railways.

CM Fadnavis told reporters, "We are thinking about the loan waiver for farmers. We have never taken a stand that we will not waive loans. We will decide in that regard at the right time. The government's priority is that the money goes to the bank accounts of rain and flood-hit farmers, and we have started that."

He appealed to the protesters not to do anything that would cause trouble to the common man.

"The protesters should not do anything that will cause trouble to the common people. Some amateurs, novices, and some bad elements join such protests. Of course, there are genuine protesters and farmers in this protest. But many people, with different tendencies, try to give a violent turn to the protest by joining the protest. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful," he warned.

CM Fadnavis further said, "The protesters should not do things like rail roko, road roko, chakkajam, and we will not allow them to do such things. The government is trying to solve the problems of the farmers. We are completely positive about their problems. The government has announced a package of Rs 32,000 crore for the rain and flood-hit farmers. We are depositing that money directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. My only appeal to the protesters is that we should find a way out through discussions."

The chief minister said that the government has taken a clear stand to help the farmers.

"The government has formed a committee to solve the problems of farmers. This is because farmers are currently in trouble. It is necessary to help those farmers who have suffered huge losses due to the rains, whose agricultural products have been washed away. We need to help the farmers first, not the banks," he added.

"When we waive off loans, money is given to banks. But it does not directly benefit farmers. It takes a long time for the money to reach the farmers. What we are doing now is sending money directly to the bank accounts of the farmers," he clarified.

Meanwhile, Kadu in Nagpur said the government should immediately announce a farm loan waiver instead of holding discussion rounds. He has made eight demands in his memorandum to the state government, and during his telephonic conversation with the state Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan.

"The government should announce a blanket loan waiver for farmers, a 20 per cent subsidy on minimum support price (MSP) should be provided to agricultural commodities, and a subsidy of Rs 5 lakh should be given to households in rural areas by applying the same criteria as in cities. All expenses from sowing to harvesting should be covered through the Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Rs 86,000 crore Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth highway should be cancelled," said Kadu.

He further demanded that the government should give a monthly honorarium of Rs 6,000 to disabled, destitute, widows, sisters and orphans, separate policies should be formulated for shepherds and fishermen to address their issues, and the issue relating to the salaries of Gram Panchayat employees should be resolved permanently.

--IANS

sj/svn