Announce T'gana-like loan waiver for Maharashtra farmers: MPCC chief Patole

The Congress in Maharashtra on Wednesday demanded that the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government announce a blanket loan waiver for farmers on the lines of Telangana and promised such a measure if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comes to power in the state.

Talking to reporters, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole accused the central and state BJP governments of being "anti-farmer" who have waived loans of industrialists, but not of cultivators, and claimed more than 1,700 agriculturists have committed suicide in the state so far this year.

"The first decision of a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will be to grant a loan waiver to farmers," he assured ahead of assembly polls which are due in October. Patole said the farmers in the state are facing both natural and economic crises.

Remunerative prices of agricultural produce are low, while costs of seeds, fertilisers, and agricultural equipment have skyrocketed.

It is the government's duty to support farmers, insisted the Congress leader. The Congress government in Telangana has provided loan waiver to farmers, and the ruling Mahayuti (grand alliance) should take a cue from the southern state and announce a similar measure for distressed farmers of Maharashtra, Patole stated.

Patole pointed out that this year, farmers in the state have faced drought in some areas and excessive rains in others. Even now, some areas have experienced heavy showers, while others are still waiting for rains.

Some regions are facing the prospect of re-sowing of crops, said the Congress MLA. Counterfeit fertilisers and substandard seeds are widely available in the market, but the government is only making empty promises of taking action against unscrupulous dealers, he said. Farmers are not benefiting from crop insurance. I

nstead, crop insurance companies are reaping the benefits, while farmers are ending their lives, said the opposition legislator. In the past 6 months, 1,727 farmers have committed suicide in the state, which is a disgrace for Maharashtra. The current condition of farmers is extremely critical and there was an urgent need for announcing a loan waiver for them, asserted Patole. The Mahayuti government is only working for select builders and industrialists.

The BJP-led government at the Centre has waived Rs 16 trillion loans of big industrialists, but they do not have money to support farmers, he claimed.

On June 11, a Congress delegation met the state Governor to demand a loan waiver for farmers of Maharashtra, Patole said. During the recent budget session of the state legislature, the Congress again raised this demand, but the Mahayuti government has no time to pay attention to farmers and their problems, he charged.

There was an expectation that the Union Budget presented on July 23 would announce a loan waiver for farmers, but the central government, too, has disappointed cultivators, said the Congress leader.