CHENNAI: CPM and CPI on Tuesday welcomed the State government’s announcement on waiving cooperative crop loans for farmers, but said the scheme fell short of the ruling TVK’s poll promise and urged the government to provide a complete waiver for farmers owning up to five acres of land.
In a statement, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s announcement on crop loan waivers for farmers who had availed loans from cooperative banks was welcome as it sought to fulfil an election assurance.
However, he pointed out that the government had announced a waiver of up to Rs 50,000 for marginal farmers and up to Rs 25,000 for small farmers, while only a limited amount had been waived for other farmers.
He said the announcement was not in line with the election promise and urged the government to implement the assurance of a complete waiver of crop loans for farmers owning up to five acres of land and a 50% waiver for those owning more than five acres.
CPI state secretary M Veerapandian also said the announcement of waiving cooperative crop loans up to Rs 50,000 would not substantially ease the burden of farmers trapped in debt for generations.
He said the scheme was contrary to the assurance in the TVK election manifesto that crop loans availed by farmers owning less than five acres would be fully waived.
Veerapandian further said that crop loan relief schemes had so far been determined based on the extent of cultivable land and not on the monetary value of loans. He added that cultivation costs varied across districts and crops, and therefore the new approach based on loan amount was not acceptable.
The CPI leader urged the State government to reconsider the decision and fully waive crop loans of farmers owning less than five acres in line with the election promise.