Hyderabad: Farmers anxious over waiver delay

Hyderabad: With only three weeks to go before the commencement of sowing season, Telangana farmers seem excessively apprehensive about the uncertainty of the implementation of the loan waiver scheme announced by the TRS in December 2018.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had announced during the vote-on-account budget that those farmers who owed up to Rs 1 lakh in crop debt as of December 11, 2018, were eligible under the crop loan waiving scheme.

According to officials of the agriculture department, as many as 35.29 lakh farmers were eligible for the benefits under the scheme during the first term of the TRS between 2014 and 2018 and now, the number of beneficiaries has risen to 48.14 lakh.

With just three weeks left before the commencement of the sowing season, the delay in the declaration of guidelines has left farmers perplexed.

While many farmers are curious whether the benefits of the scheme extend to every individual farmer or to their families, those who have mortgaged gold to borrow the money are wondering whether or not they qualify to avail the scheme.

Officials claim that six lakh farmers have availed crop loans against gold and they are awaiting instructions from the state government on this.