Farm loan waiver: Maharashtra village wants to merge with Uttar Pradesh

Mumbai: As Maharashtra was celebrating the 57th year of its formation on Monday, the village of Udatare in Satara district’s Wai tehsil demanded, during a gram sabha meeting, that it be considered a part of Uttar Pradesh whose government “has shown sensitivity by waiving off farmers’ loans”.

“If the Maharashtra government is unable to help farmers, it should allow us to come under the UP’s jurisdiction,” reads the gram sabha resolution, which was proposed by Udatare resident Kunal Babar (23), who has a degree in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.

According to the panchayat’s resolution, farmers should be granted a complete loan waiver. Secondly, it asks that farmers get the minimum support price for their crops, which includes the return on investment cost plus 50 per cent.

The villagers also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s report on agriculture in India.

The resolution said that if state government is unable to accept these demands, it should allow the village to be included in Uttar Pradesh.