Maharashtra farm loan waiver: Over 30% applicants are not real farmers, claims govt think tank

Yavatmal: The Chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavlamban Mission, a state government think tank,  Kishor Tiwari, has alleged that over 30 percent applicants for the benefit of agriculture loan waiver scheme announced by the Maharashtra government are not the real farmers. [caption id=“attachment_3945213” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Tiwari has demanded a probe into this and appealed to the state government to initiate criminal proceedings against such bogus farmers immediately. According to Tiwari, 30 percent farmers who applied for loan waiver scheme benefits in the suicide prone regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada are farmers only for name sake. “These farmers are either big traders, professionals, political leaders or money lenders. They are leading a cozy life in urban areas after giving their land on rent,” Tiwari said, adding their names are shown in the land records and they are thus making a clamour over the loan waiver delay issues. While quoting the agriculture minister Chandrakant Patil’s recent public statement that over 10 lakh bank accounts of the farmers are bogus and they would not be entitled for the loan waiver benefits, Tiwari demanded a thorough probe in to the scam to bring the culprits to law. “Those farmers who really cultivate the land are not the owners as per the government’s land records and hence they are deprived of all the benefits meant for the farmers,” Tiwari said. He added that government should beef up its machinery to check the bogus farmers and take initiative to exclude them from the loan waiver scheme.