Amid guarantees’ burden, loan waiver demand puts Karnataka government in fix

With drought engulfing three-fourths of Karnataka, pressure is growing on the Siddaramaiah government to waive crop loans as a ‘contingency’ measure.

Farmers’ groups are also asking the government to procure the yield with a support price. 

The demands are likely put the ruling Congress in a tight spot ahead of Lok Sabha elections as the government has to first ensure availability of funds for the five guarantee schemes.

According to latest banking data, Karnataka has agricultural non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs 18,964.6 crore. Also, 251 farmers have died by suicide till August this year. 

The last crop loan waiver was in 2018-19 when the JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy waived crop loans to the tune of Rs 15,597 crore, covering 26.83 lakh farmers.

In his first term, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had waived cooperative crop loans worth Rs 8,165 crore for 22.27 lakh farmers. 

Kuruburu Shantakumar, president of the Karnataka Federation of Farmers’ Associations, has already petitioned Siddaramaiah, seeking crop loan waiver in the wake of rising farmers suicides and severe drought in ‘all taluks’. 

“We have demanded that the CM to waive farm loans as farmers have incurred losses to the extent that they are not able to recover initial investments made on sowing,” he said.

He demanded that with several crops wilting due to lack of water, the government must release crop loss compensation up to Rs 25,000 per hectare. 

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha state honorary president Chamarasa Mali Patil told DH that the state was facing unprecedented drought this year, but this was not unusual.

“Drought has become more of a cyclical event and once in four years, the state is invariably facing it. The government could have planned well ahead to reduce the burden on farmers. It has failed to evolve a mechanism of minimum support price to procure farmers’ produce. It is the only way to prevent farmers from taking their own lives,” he said. 

Pointing to the Congress’ pre-poll assurance of increasing interest-free loan amount from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, Patil questioned why the government had not fulfilled its promise.

Sugarcane farmers’ leader Subhash B Shirbur said a delegation had met Sugar and Agricultural Marketing Minister Shivanand Patil demanding loan waiver. 

Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna and Shivanand Patil were unavailable for comments.