Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi government today presented its first budget in the House. Presented by Finance and Planning minister and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the budget has significance on the backdrop of reduced economic growth of the state over last one year and the continuing agrarian crisis due to natural calamities. The government has announced huge financial help to farm sector by way of loan waiver and various other schemes.
In a significant move, the government has earmarked Rs 22,000 Cr for farm loan waiver scheme to be implemented in the state. Apart from the current beneficiaries, farmers who have loans more than Rs 2 lakh will also get the benefit of the scheme. For the first time, in a novel move, the government has announced incentive scheme for those farmers who are judicially repaying their loans. Such farmers will Rs 50,000 each as an incentive, Pawar has announced.
“We wish to earmark fund of Rs 22,000 Cr for farm loan waiver to bring relief to them. The process to deposit the amount in the accounts of beneficiaries has already begun. There had been a long standing demand of some incentive to those who are regularly repaying their loans. This time, we have decided to incentivise those farmers,” Pawar said. The government will also consider bringing relief to those who have borrowed more than Rs 2 lakh and for marginal land holding farmers. Considering the power requirements of farmers, the state government, apart from the new power connections to farm pumps, five lakh solar pimps would be distributed to farmers over the next five years.
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Out of the total 22,000 Cr earmarked for farm loan waiver, 15,000 Cr would be released during financial year 2019-20 while remaining Rs 7,000 Cr would be released next year. In all Rs 9,35,000 Cr have already been deposited in the bank accounts of 13.88 lakh farmers and remaining beneficiaries would get the loan waiver before the end of Kharif season. The government has decided to waive off the loan taken from 2015-16 to 2018-19 which, principal and interest collectively, does not exceed Rs 2 lakh.
Apart from Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farm Loan Waiver Scheme, which was launched by the previous government, two new schemes have also been announced. One Time Settlement Scheme to waive of loan taken from April 1, 2015 to March 2019 the principal amount and interest of which exceeds Rs 2 lakh. If the farmers repay their share exceeding Rs 2 lakh, the amount of Rs 2 lakh would be waived off.
Similarly, an incentive of Rs 50,000 would be given to those farmers repaying their loans regularly, borrowed during 2017-18 and 2019 -20. However, those farmers who had taken loan less than Rs 50,000 during 2018-19, and fully repaid it, would get incentive equal to the actual loan amount borrowed in the year 2018-19.
The Opposition has termed the budget as mere eyewash and hollow. The leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said, “It was just a speech for public rally and not budget. The government has ignored the regions such as Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra. The finance minister has conveniently concealed the figures of opening and closing balance for the previous year. There is huge deficit at present, which is bound to go up.”
