AP government will waive loans of all women's groups: Peddireddy

Amaravati: Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy on Monday said that the government will increase the number of beneficiaries under YSR Pension scheme and will clear the debts of women Self Help Groups (SHG) as promised.

The pension facility will be ensured to all eligible persons, he reiterated.

During a review meeting with District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Project Directors (PD) of all districts held at Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) office at Vijayawada, he said that seven lakh more beneficiaries will be added to YSR Pension scheme from January 2020.

The government will clear loans taken by 9.33 lakh women Self-Help Groups worth Rs 27,186 crore and make them debt-free, he announced.

DRDA PDs must go to field and work for 15 days every month, directed the Minister and asked them to monitor the execution of the prestigious 'Navaratnalu' scheme, rural development projects and various other government schemes in the State.

The government will waive SHG loans in four installments from the next financial year. The Budget for the Self-Help groups will be increased to Rs 1,800 crore from Rs 900 crore.

Office facility will be provided to 168 agri-producers associations, he announced. The government decided to set up an input shop that includes 76 godowns to deliver quality seeds and fertilisers and to store agri-products.

Some 92 products based processing units will be set up and that will be run by farmers' associations.

Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary Gopalakrishna Dwivedi and SERP CEO Raja Babu were present at the review meeting.