CHENNAI: Pattali Makkal Katchi President Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the Tamil Nadu government to fully waive crop loans obtained by small and marginal farmers through cooperative societies, arguing that the recent decision to increase the loan waiver ceiling from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 is insufficient to address the mounting debt burden faced by farmers.
In a statement, Anbumani acknowledged the government's decision, announced by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, to enhance the crop loan waiver limit. However, he said the measure would not provide meaningful relief to a large section of indebted farmers whose outstanding loans have exceeded the revised threshold.
According to the government notification, all farmers, including small, marginal and large farmers, who have borrowed up to Rs 75,000 through cooperative institutions will receive a full waiver. Farmers with loans exceeding Rs 75,000 will receive relief of up to Rs 35,000 on their outstanding dues.
Anbumani criticised that the revised scheme would benefit only around 21,000 additional farmers and would still leave a substantial number of cultivators struggling with debt. He pointed out that while approximately 6.22 lakh farmers would receive complete loan waivers under the scheme, about 8.21 lakh others would be eligible only for a partial waiver of Rs 35,000, which he described as inadequate and inequitable.
Anbumani pointed out that citing Reserve Bank of India and NABARD guidelines as obstacles to a comprehensive waiver was not justified.
"If the government can increase the waiver allocation to this extent, it should also be able to provide complete relief, at least to small and marginal farmers," he said, adding that political will was the key factor.
He also called upon the Tamil Nadu government to honour its election commitments by granting a full waiver of crop loans for small and marginal farmers and a 50 per cent waiver for medium and large farmers, saying such a move would provide genuine relief to the agricultural community and strengthen the rural economy.