K M Dayashankar
HYDERABAD, JULY 15, 2024: The Telangana State government has issued guidelines for the implementation of the election promise of crop waiver by issuing a Government Order Rt number 567 on Monday.
The government stated the waiver of crop loan would be limited to Rs 2 lakh per one farmer’s family. The food security card albeit white ration card database of the civil supplies department would be considered as a parameter to define a farmer’s family.
This would be applicable to short term crop loans obtained between December 12, 2018 and December 9, 2023. The waiver would be implemented for loans obtained from scheduled commercial banks, rural banks and district cooperative banks.
Under the programme, farmers will have to pay the excess loan amount (more than Rs.2 lakh) to the banks. Once the excess amount was paid, the remaining Rs.2 lakh would be deposited into the farmer’s loan account.
GO Rt. No.567_Crop Loan Waiver
The Agriculture Commissioner would be the implementing authority for the farm loan waiver 2024 and the National Informatics Centre would be IT partner for the implementation.
An exclusive portal would be operated for implementation of the farm loan waiver programme. All the details, including each farmer’s loan account, data validation, eligibility and others would be made available in the portal.
The agriculture department would be setting up grievance cells to address complaints raised by farmers. They can lodge the complaints on the portal or at the centres at mandal level. Officials should process the application and address it within 30 days and the same should be informed to the farmers.
Every bank would be appointing a nodal officer and the officer would be coordinating with the agriculture department and NIC. The officer would have to digitally sign on the farm loans from the respective banks.
The farm loan waiver would not be applicable for loans secured by SHGs, JLGs, RMGs, LECS. Similarly it would not be applicable for rescheduled loans or reorganized loans secured by firms or companies but it would be applicable for loans secured through PACS.
The agricultural department would set up a grievance redressal cell within 30 days after lodging their complaints.
