Congress vows to stump TRS with farm loan waiver

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the Congress would waive farm loans in one go unlike the TRS government which has been releasing funds in instalments and not serving the real purpose. He said the farm loan waiver would be one of the main issues for Congress in the next elections.

At a press conference, the TPCC president demanded that the State government issue a white paper by making all the details of crop loan waiver scheme lucid. Welcoming the release of Rs 4,000 crore by the State government towards the last instalment of crop loan waiver scheme dues, he said that the Congress had finally succeeded in forcing the TRS government t to clear the dues.

However, he said that the GO. RT. No. 860 issued for Budget Release Order (BRO) of Rs 4,000 crore was still not available on the official GOs website which gives rise to suspicion on State government's intentions.

He said that the government issued BROs in the past also but delayed the actual release of payment. The BROs seem to be released in a hurry in view of the plenary, he said. He alleged that the government had diverted SC and ST funds off over Rs 1,000 crore to clear dues of crop loan waiver scheme.

Of the total amount of Rs 4,000 crore being cleared this time, Rs 2,957 crore is being released as Grants-in-Aid under Scheme for Debt Relief to Farmers. Of the remaining amount Rs 656.62 crore is from Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and Rs 385.90 crore is of Tribal Area Sub-Plan.

This diversion of funds is completely illegal and unacceptable. Funds meant for SCs and STs welfare should not be diverted for other purposes. KCR should have diverted funds from Mission Bhagiratha or other projects, he said.

Uttam further demanded that the government clarify whether it would pay the interest, as promised in the Assembly.

The State Level Bankers Committee should be asked to declare the release of all documents belonging to farmers and they must be issued ‘No Dues Certificates’,” he added. The TPCC chief also demanded that the government pay compensation of Rs 6 lakh per family of nearly 3,000 farmers who committed suicide since June 2014.

He said the government should release Rs 180 crore for this purpose on an immediate basis. Further, farmers who lost their crops due to drought and unseasonal rains should also be provided immediate relief. Similarly, the government should also create Market Intervention Fund of Rs 1000 crore, he said.