Mumbai, July 15 (IANS). After the announcement of ‘Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmers Crop Loan Waiver Scheme’, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday hit out at the opposition, saying that while some people raised doubts over the implementation of the waiver scheme, this (Mahayuti) government is under the leadership of farmers’ own ‘Devbhau’ (brother god).
He was speaking at a program organized by BJP Kisan Morcha to honor him.
Responding to critics accusing the state government of political manipulation, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that if we were thinking only politically, we could have postponed the loan waiver till January 2029 as the next major elections were far away. But decisions related to farmer welfare are not related to politics. Some hoped that the government would fail to deliver on promises, giving them an opportunity to stage protests and run their own ‘campaign stands’. They forgot that this is Mahayuti government – Devbhau’s government which is dedicated to the farmers.
He emphasized that the decision of loan waiver has been taken purely for the welfare of farmers rather than for the upcoming elections.
He reminded that loan waiver was a key promise of his last election manifesto, which resulted in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mahayuti alliance winning comprehensively in district councils, municipal corporations and town councils.
Explaining the technical details of the scheme, the Chief Minister said that the state government has approved loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh, along with an incentive of Rs 50,000 for farmers who repay the loan regularly.
He further said that initially a condition was placed that the beneficiaries of loan waiver in 2019 would not be eligible for the scheme this time.
Chief Minister Fadnavis said that I asked the officials what would happen if the government provides assistance up to Rs 50,000 and farmers pay the rest. It was revealed that out of the 12 lakh excluded farmers, about 600,000 farmers could benefit by paying only Rs 10,000 to 12,000 from their own pockets. Therefore, going completely by the official report of the committee, we decided that the state government will provide them up to Rs 50,000 for assistance.
–IANS
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