Chhattisgarh: Farm loan disbursement goal nears 100% in election year

As Chhattisgarh gears up for the Assembly elections due in the next four months, it has nearly achieved its 100 per cent target for disbursing farm loans to the farmers in the state. 

The state had set a target of disbursing farm loans worth Rs 6,100 crore to the farmers in the current kharif marketing season. These loans are provided to the farmers in the form of seeds and fertilisers through cooperative societies. The repayment of the loan amount is deducted when the farmers sell their yield to the society after harvest. 

“As on August 5, short-term agricultural loans worth Rs 6,067.28 crore have been provided to the farmers for farming,” said a state government spokesperson. The loan amount given to farmers accounts for 99.46 per cent of the targeted Rs 6,100 crore for the year. The spokesperson said more than 1.36 million farmers have benefited from the interest-free agriculture loans offered by the state government.  According to political analysts, the response of the farmers to avail of the agriculture loan is also connected to the upcoming Assembly elections. "Since the Congress government waived farm loans after coming to power in December 2018, the farmers are expecting the same in the 2023 elections," said one of the analysts. The Congress had announced this move in its election manifesto and implemented it after securing a thumping victory in the last elections.  

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel fulfilled his promise of waiving farmers' loans and issued the order soon after assuming office. Following the instruction, the state government waived off short-term loans amounting to Rs 6,230 crore availed by around 1.66 million farmers. The chief minister later stated categorically that the farm loan waiver was a one-time measure, and farmers should not expect the same for the next season.  In the last kharif season, the target was not met even till mid-September. The state government had set a target of disbursing Rs 5,800 crore as farm loans but could only distribute Rs 5,368 crore.