Chandigarh, January 11: Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today cleared 1.15 lakh more debt-waiver cases amounting to Rs 580 crore, to be disbursed to farmers across the state before January 31.
The announcement was made after a high-level meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister, which reviewed the progress of the implementation of the farm debt-waiver scheme, formally launched by the state government on January 7 with the disbursement of waiver certificates to nearly 47,000 farmers from five districts.
With the completion of disbursement of waiver certificates to these 1.15 lakh farmers, the state government would cover 1.6 lakh small and marginal farmers with a loan amount of Rs 748 crore.
Taking a serious note of resentment among the intended beneficiaries being left out, the officials concerned were directed to ensure that the disbursement process is handled smoothly and no eligible farmer is left out. The Chief Minister also instructed the officials to ensure rectification of any technical errors, such as names being misspelt, and plug any loopholes that might obstruct the efficient implementation of the scheme at any stage.
Captain Amarinder made it clear that no lapses in this regard would be tolerated.
In the first phase, the government is waiving loans taken from cooperative institutions, for which 5.63 lakh farmers have been identified for the relief to the tune of Rs 2,700 crore. The entire process would be completed in four phases, with commercial private and nationalised banks to be covered after the cooperative loans. Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh, Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Health Minister Brahm Mohindra also attended the meeting.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/
