Farmers receive loan waivers as low as ₹1.79 in UP

Half of Yogi Adityanath’s ministers are not in Lucknow. They are travelling to different parts of Uttar Pradesh, distributing loan waiver certificates to farmers who have taken crop loans from different state-run banks. It seems that the UP government is alive to the problems of farmers. The truth, however, is different from what meets the eye.

Around 12 per cent of the farmers who are entitled for loan waiver are those who have got waiver of less than ₹1000. Some of these farmers have got certificates of loan waiver of ₹2, ₹10 or ₹18. In some cases, farmers had spent more money to reach the venue to collect the cheques than what they actually got.

A branch manager of a nationalised bank in Boghnipur in Etawah district told National Herald that around a dozen farmers staged a protest at the bank early this week saying they got meagre amounts as loan waiver. Some of them returned the waiver certificate and used the choicest expletives against the bank management.

“There is no fault in accounting. These farmers had taken the loan but had repaid most of it in time. The bank waived off the rest of the money – which sometimes is as less as ₹20 or ₹ 200. We were asked to waive of loan of farmers who had taken crop loan up to ₹1 lakh. We followed the rule book – in letter and in spirit,’ the bank manager said, seeking anonymity for obvious reasons.

The crop loan waiver was the biggest poll promise of the Bharatiya Janata party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared that the BJP government in UP would announce a loan waiver scheme in its first state Cabinet meeting. On April 4, the Yogi government took the decision of loan waiver which, it said, would benefit over 86 lakh small and marginal farmers. The project would cost ₹36000 crore to the state exchequer.

Camps to distribute crop loan waiver certificates are being organised all across the state. Reports of anomalies have started pouring in. Reports say in Mahirpur in Jalaun, district farmers got certificates of as less as ₹10 and ₹215. In Etawah, one farmer Rama Nand got ₹1.79 that he owed to the bank waived off, while the certificate that Munni Lal Bholi got stated that his outstanding loan of ₹2 had been waived off.

Another report say a marginal farmer, Ishwar Dayal, in Bhartana got a farm loan amounting to 19 paise waived off. In Hamirpur, ₹10.38 of Manish Chandra was waived off where as his Kisan Credit Card says that outstanding loan was ₹1.12 lakh.

Similar reports are pouring in from areas such as Jalaun, Kannauj, Mahoba and Farrukhabad.

A Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, Harpal Chaudhry, said that as per rough estimate among 10 lakh farmers, who account for 12 per cent of total beneficiary farmers, have pending loan of less than ₹1000. Going by this ratio, the number of farmers whose loans stand between ₹5000 and ₹10,000 would be around 30 per cent.

“This is a matter of concern as to who are the farmers who account for 70 per cent and have usurped over ₹32,000 crore out of the ₹36,000 crore loan waiver money. This seems a big scam. The BKU has asked its members to keep a record of beneficiaries in their blocks. Once the distribution of certificates is over, the BKU will evaluate the project,” he said.

There are some farmers too who are happy over implementation of the government scheme. Manish Chaudhry, from Kakori, whose ₹78,000 loan was waived off said it was the happiest day of his life. “Now, the bank managers will not come knocking on my doors,” he said.

Dinesh Singh, a farmer from Mohanlalganj, said, “The loan waiver scheme was implemented without any hindrance. I met bank officials and showed them the paper. They asked for the Adhaar card and that’s all.” His loan of ₹1 lakh has been waived off in one stroke.

Their loans were waived off at the inaugural loan waiver camp held on August 17 in which the Chief Minister, along with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, distributed certificates to 7541 farmers in Lucknow.