MP farmer gets Rs 13 instead of Rs 24,000 loan waiver

Bhopal, Jan 23 (IANS) A Madhya Pradesh farmer, Shivlal Kataria, was shocked to see Rs 13 marked against his name, instead of Rs 24,000, on the list of beneficiaries for the farm loan waiver issued by the authorities on Wednesday.

"The state government had promised to waive loans up to Rs 2 lakh. Forms were filled and I was expecting a complete waiver of my loan amount of Rs 23,815. But the list that has come to the panchayat says only Rs 13 have been waived," he said.

Kataria, a resident of Nipania Baijnath village in Agar Malwa district, 120 km north of Indore, was excited when Congress, which made the loan waiver promise before the assembly polls, came to power as he thought it would provide some relief.

"I am an honest farmer. I have been regularly paying my dues. On questioning, the staff said that I did not have loan on me on the date of loan waiver. There are major irregularities in the loan waiver scheme. I have reported the matter to the authorities," he said.

The government, on the other hand, said flaws are rising due to irregularities at the stage of loan disbursal.

Cabinet minister Omkar Singh Markam said, "Irregularities which happened at the stage of loan disbursal are now surfacing. We are taking required action."

Keeping the pre-election promise, Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath had announced farm loan waiver on the day of his taking charge. The process of application began on January 15.

The last date for applying for loan waiver is February 5 and from February 22 the money will start going directly to the farmers' bank accounts.

The scheme is aimed to benefit 55 lakh farmers and would entail an expenditure of Rs 50,000 crore.