MP govt extends farm loan waiver from March to Dec 12, 2018

Bhopal, Jan 5: The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Saturday approved the farmers loan waiver scheme and also extended the cut off date for farm loan waiver from March 31 to December 12, 2018.

Waiving off farmer loans was one of the key promises made by the Congress in its manifesto for the recently-held assembly elections in the state which the party won. Soon after taking oath as the CM, Kamal Nath had spelt out details of the scheme saying only loan amount outstanding as on March 31, 2018, will be eligible for the waiver.

But it seems ineffective in ending the farmers' ordeal and stop suicides in the state, as four farmers have died in this period.With these series of incidents coming up, Congress has appealed to the farmers to raise their issues before the government and not to resort to such extreme steps.

"It is very sad that farmers are committing suicide but it is happening because of the bad polices of previous BJP government. The current government is trying its best to save farmers' lives. If the farmers are having any problem with loan or debts, they can raise the issue in front of the government, instead of taking the extreme stop," said Congress state media in charge Shobha Oza.

The Opposition BJP in the state had accused the Congress government of taking farmers for a ride by promising loan waiver to all in its poll campaign but leaving many beneficiaries out after coming to power.

A farm loan waiver and more jobs in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh were among the Congress's top promises in the poll campaign, reiterated in most public speeches and in the manifestos.

The Cabinet also approved the decision to raise assistance for the marriages of girls from Rs 28,000 to Rs 51,000. The loan waiver in MP is expected to cost the state exchequer around Rs 35,000-Rs 38,000 crore and benefit close to 34 lakh farmers.