Congress government in Telangana launches 2nd phase farm loan waiver

Revanth Reddy said that July and August will be remembered as significant months in the history of Telangana, as the state has created history in the country by waiving farm loans in a record one-month time.

Hyderabad: On Tuesday, the Congress government in Telangana launched the second phase of the farm loan waiver programme. The farm loan waiver programme was launched on July 15. On Tuesday, the government, released Rs 6,190 crore to 5,45,407 families. Overall, in the two phases, the government released has Rs 12,289 crore to credit into 17.91 lakh bank accounts.

“Congress announced the Farmer Declaration in Warangal on May 6, 2022, with the aim of bringing happiness into the lives of distressed peasants. The previous BRS government failed to waive the farm loans, even up to Rs 1 lakh, in four phases during the 60-month rule.

The last government waived farm loans worth hardly Rs 25,000 crore. Some raised serious doubts about the implementation of farm loan waiver amid the state's deep financial crisis.

Despite facing a fund crisis, our government planned to waive the loans. Mobilised the required funds. Congress has been supporting farmers. My government proved its commitment by waiving the farm loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh within a month. Farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived by August and free the farmers from debt burden,” said Revanth Reddy on Tuesday while launching the second phase.

He also said that July and August will be remembered as significant months in the history of Telangana, as the state has created history in the country by waiving farm loans in a record one-month time.

“No state in independent India has so far waived farmers' loans on such a large scale,” he added.

Deputy chief minister and finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka asserted that the government would cover crop insurance premiums on behalf of farmers in addition to loan waiver.

“The previous government had not implemented the crop insurance scheme and did not care for the hardships of farmers. But the Congress government will be implementing a crop insurance scheme,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister recalled that when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi discussed the farmers’ loan waiver with PCC President Revanth Reddy and with him as Congress Legislature Party leader while going to the Warangal public meeting in a helicopter and announcing the Rs 2 lakh loan waiver for farmers in the Warangal declaration, everyone was surprised whether it would be possible. The then-ruling party had even heckled the Congress leaders for their promise, he said.

The BRS party, which had promised a Rs one lakh loan waiver in one go earlier, could not do so and did it in four installments over a period of four to five years. As a result, the interest burden on loans had increased, and farmers could not get any benefit, he observed.

When the BRS government could not implement loan waiver properly, even though it inherited a rich state, many were sceptical whether the Congress government, with so much loan burden left by the previous government, would be able to fulfill its promise, he added.