(News) Bundelkhand farmers Still away from Loan Relief

News : Bundelkhand farmers Still away from Loan Relief

This year a lot of publicity had been given to a Rs 60000 crore loan relief scheme for farmers which was later extended to a Rs 71,000 crore scheme. This scheme did not include loans taken from private moneylenders, it was confined to loans taken from banks and related financial institutions. Still this scheme had raised a lot of hope as many farmers had significant levels of bank debt. While the scheme provided full waiver for small farmers, it also promised 25 per cent loan waiver for bigger farmers if they could return the remaining 75 per cent loan.

"However, recent inquiries in Bundelkhand revealed that in most places only about 10 to 20 per cent of the farmers indebted to banks could get this relief. In Bigahna village of Mahua block (Banda district) not even one farmer has got relief. In Naraini block of Banda district, social activists said only about 10 per cent farmers indebted to banks could get relief. In some cases even farmers who had been covered by relief were asked to pay bribes to get a certificate of debt-clearance. A bank manager said that in his bank about 15 per cent of affected persons had got relief, and he added that the situation is likely to be somewhat similar no matter where you go." [..]

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Courtesy : Mainstreamweekly.net