Even as Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh meets various secretaries on Monday to finalise the proposals to be sent to the Centre in response to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s call for changes in the relief package for Vidarbha farmers, the state would be thinking of ways to bring back the six lakh farmers who were omitted from this year’s credit disbursal for defaulting on last year’s loans.

The 9.33 lakh farmers who got fresh loans last year after it was rescheduled and interest waiver ended up with a total loan burden of Rs 2,200 crore, including the Rs 800 crore interest. Their loans were rescheduled bringing down the amount to Rs 2,000 crore. With only four lakh being able to repay their debts, six lakh farmers were left with a debt burden. They were also not given new loans this kharif season.

Given its stated position against loan waiver, the only way before the state government is to give another interest waiver and make the farmers eligible for fresh loans in the coming rabi and next kharif season.

The waiver, if effected, would not cost the state government more than Rs 60 crore, since the interest was charged only at 6 pc. The six lakh farmers left out of this year’s credit programme have a total outstanding loan of Rs 1,000 cr. This is precisely what the CM would have to finally decide on this Monday.

Former Amravati Divisional Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Co-operatives, S K Goel, in his presentation before the Prime Minister in Mumbai this August, had suggested a conditional total loan waiver for farmers willing to take up organic and contract farming. The idea is to waive off all their outstanding loans in three years at the rate of one-third each year if they adopt organic or contract farming.

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