Madhya Pradesh government has launched a CM Farm Loan Interest Waiver Scheme (मुख्यमंत्री कृषक ब्याज माफ़ी योजना) on 14 May 2023. In this scheme, the state govt. will waive off interest on outstanding crop loans taken by the farmers for agricultural purposes. More than 11 lakh farmers of MP state who have taken loans for agriculture related activities would be benefited. In this article, we will tell you about the complete details of CM Interest Waiver Scheme.
About Mukhyamantri Krishak Byaj Mafi Yojana 2024
Under the Mukhyamantri Krishak Byaaj Mafi Yojana 2023 or Chief Minister Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme, MP govt. will compensate the defaulter farmers, who have outstanding loans of up to Rs. 2 lakh including the principal and interest as on 31 March 2023, from Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies (PACS).
CM Launching MP Farm Loan Interest Waiver Scheme
While launching the MP Farm Loan Interest Waiver Scheme on 14th May 2023, CM said “The previous government [a reference to the Congress government that ruled between 2018 and 2020] cheated the farmers in the name of loan waiver and made them defaulters. They announced that they would waive loans for farmers within ten days but waived only ₹6,000 crore out of 48,000 crore in 1.25 years”.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan added “Our government will pay the interest amount of each such farmer, so that they do not remain defaulters and can get the benefit of crop loan scheme at 0% interest”. Under MP Farmer Loan Interest Waiver Scheme, outstanding amounts of Rs. 2,123 crore would be waived off for 11,19,000 farmers.
Who are Eligible for CM Fasali Rinn Byaaj Mukti Yojana
- He / she must be a permanent resident of Maharashtra state.
- This scheme will benefit defaulter farmers who have outstanding loans upto Rs. 2 lakh (principal + interest) as on 31 March 2023.
- Farmers who have defaulted on loans from the Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies (PACS), affiliated to District Cooperative Central Banks would be compensated.
- Under the scheme, short-term crop as well as short-term loans, which have been converted into medium-term loans due to natural calamities, are also included.
This CM Crop Loan Interest Waiver Scheme will enable farmers to get out of default and take crop loans again.
Attracting Votes through MP Crop Loan Interest Waiver Scheme
Senior journalist Rakesh Dixit feels that the move is aimed at attracting voters from the rural seats which account for nearly 170 of the 230 Assembly segments. “Last time, the Congress had scored big in the rural centres helping them win 114 seats and tasted power for a while. However, the State has had a history of announcing such farmer-specific waivers in election years since the 1990s and the fine print needs to be seen to ascertain how many people are actually benefited eventually. In the past, we have seen that the caveats and riders filter out a large number of intended beneficiaries in farm-related or even other schemes such as the Ladli Behna scheme for women,” he said.
Mr. Dixit and Chandrakant Gour the State secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, a farmers’ organisation politically linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, pegged the percentage of agricultural families in the State’s voting population around 69%-70%. According to Mr. Gour, the State has only given the benefits to defaulters who took loans from cooperative banks whereas many who borrowed money from nationalised banks have been left out.
He added that with two elections [the 2023 Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections next year] crucial for the BJP, the agriculture sector’s wrath can throw up “unexpected results”, even as he spoke of a demonstration took up by the farmers in Bhopal last November. Back then, nearly 15,000 farmers had thronged the State capital with a list of demands and almost all of those remained unmet, he added.
Source/Reference Link: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/interest-waiver-scheme-for-11-lakh-farmers-launched-in-madhya-pradesh/article66850970.ece