UP disburses Rs 7,371 crore in 1st phase of farm loan waiver

The Uttar Pradesh government today said it has disbursed Rs 7,371 crore to waive loans of 11.93 lakh small and marginal farmers in the first phase of implementation of the debt waiver scheme.

The state government has announced a Rs 32,000 crore scheme to waive farm loans of up to Rs 1 lakh by lending institution as on or before March 31, 2016.

The state government in a release said that farm loans of Rs 10,000 and above have been waived benefiting 11,27,890 farmers.

As many as 41,690 farmers have benefited from waiver of loans between Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. The number of farmers who have been given redemption in the Rs 500 to Rs 1000 bracket are 5,553, the release said.

The release said that loans of Re 1 to Rs 100 of 4,814 eligible farmers have been redeemed while 6,895 farmers have been redeemed of money from Rs 100 to Rs 500.

"Where the principal amount has been repaid by the farmer, the interest amount, even if small, has been redeemed under the scheme. In some cases, a wrong impression has been created that only a meagre amount has been redeemed," a state government spokesperson told PTI.