New Delhi, December 18
In an attempt to minimise the hardships of farmers in drought-hit states, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today announced the government’s decision to completely waive interest for one year on kharif loans taken by them.
“I have now decided to waive completely, the first year’s deferred liability of interest on kharif loans, as a one-time measure”, Mr Vajpayee said while making a suo motu statement in Parliament today.
He said farmers who had raised kharif loans would be entitled to obtain an endorsement of this waiver directly from their loaning bank and appropriate guidelines in this regard would be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
In addition, the government had also decided that
agricultural input subsidy would now be extended further to cover all other farmers for both sown and unsown areas, up to a ceiling of two hectares, as a one-time measure and in relaxation of the existing guidelines.
On the basis of the assessment to be made by the Ministry of Agriculture, in consultation with the Finance Ministry, all 14 affected states would receive additional amounts, based on actual land holding and cultivation patterns. These states would now receive in excess of a further Rs 555 crore, for combating drought, to be met from either the Calamity Relief Fund or the NCCF, the Prime Minister said.
For cattle, an additional amount of Rs 25 crore would now be provided to the Department of Animal Husbandry, for support to such “gaushalas” as tend to more than 1000 heads of cattle.
Releases might be permitted directly to NGOs running such “gaushalas”, Mr Vajpayee said.
“A committee comprising officers from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Finance and the PMO would authorise such releases, in tandem with like and simultaneous disbursements from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund”, he said.
Today’s announcement follows the earlier decision of the government to defer and reschedule the current year’s interest on both kharif crop loan
and agricultural term loan. This was to be recovered over the next five years in the case of small and marginal farmers, and three years in the case of other farmers.
In addition, interest for one year, on both these types of loans, amounting to Rs 6,040 crore, having been deferred, was to be spread out over several years as a liability.
On input subsidy, the government had earlier
announced a grant to small and marginal farmers, amounting to over Rs 1,490 crore.
Today’s announcements are in furtherance to the earlier guidelines.
On foodgrains, the Prime Minister said the government had already sanctioned an allotment of 38.75 lakh metric tonnes of rice and wheat worth Rs 4000 crore free of cost to the 14 states.
“This is for three months only, that is up to January, 2003. More foodgrains will thereafter be made available to the needy states”, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said in recognition of the acute water shortage, particularly in drought-affected areas of Rajasthan, the Centre had instructed the Ministry of Railways to run additional water tanker trains to “mitigate this critical deficiency”.
