Pb CM directs Haque panel on loan waiver to expedite report

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today directed the T Haque panel to expedite the submission of its report on debt waiver for farmers.

Chairing a meeting of the panel, the chief minister reiterated his government's commitment to farm debt waiver and issued instructions to the committee, and concerned officials, to prepare a complete roadmap for time-bound waiver of the loans as announced by his government in line with the Congress's poll promises.

The meeting also mulled the issue of multiple crop loans by farmers, and the committee was directed to go into the matter in detail and come out with conclusive ways and means to see how best to deal with it in the interest of the farmers.
 

Singh told the meeting that he was also pursuing with the central government various initiatives to provide relief to the distressed farming community of the state.

In a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the chief minister has sought a one-time exemption to the state government from the provisions of the FRBM Act, 2003, that restricts its borrowings to a maximum of 3 per cent of the GSDP.

Singh said he had sought permission from the Centre to allow the state government to raise additional borrowings of Rs 10,000 crore from financial institutions or market to help mitigate the financial distress of the farmers.

Pointing out that on the basis of consultations within the Haque-led expert group the state government had decided to provide an institutional loan waiver up to Rs 2 lakh to marginal and small farmers.

In view of the urgency and importance of the issue, a delegation led by state Finance Minister had met Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as well as Chairman, NABARD on July 26 and 27.

Though the RBI had said the state would have to arrange funds from its own resources for the proposed debt relief scheme, given the constraint of resources, it would not be possible to extend this support to farmers from the state's own resources, said Singh.

Noting that the expected gap in revenues and expenditure in Financial Year 2017-18 had been projected at Rs 10,273 crore, he said the state would need to raise loans for this additional liability, but the provisions of FRBM Act, 2003, restrict state government borrowings to a maximum of 3 per cent of the GSDP, which comes to Rs 12,819 crore.

As a result, the state was not able to extend this debt relief scheme to the farmers until the limit of borrowings under FRBM Act, 2003, was relaxed and enhanced as a special dispensation for this purpose, he added.

The state chief secretary had already taken up the matter with the Union finance secretary, Singh wrote, adding that the state government was also, on its part, making all out efforts to mobilize additional resources.

Further, said the chief minister, the receipt of various cess or fee which were so far being collected and spent directly by various institutions, had already been transferred to the consolidated fund of the state.

Moreover, the state was likely to earn handsome growth in revenues under the GST regime, he said.