Ranchi, Oct 10 (PTI) Sadhu Rao, a middle-aged farmer from Ranchi’s Namkum block, had taken a loan of over Rs 50,000 in 2020-21 but he could not pay the loan due to the impact of Covid pandemic and persistent ill health.
Rao’s income dropped from farming during the pandemic period. Thereafter, two consecutive drought-like situations in 2022 and 2023 made his condition worse.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government announced a waiver of the loan under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) up to Rs 2 lakh, which brought a smile to Rao’s face again.
“I am very happy as the Jharkhand government has recently waived my loan, which indeed gave me another life,” he said.
The Jharkhand government’s Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana has not only eased the burden of Rao but thousands of farmers like him, who were struggling with debt.
The scheme aims to relieve farmers from the financial pressures of loans.
The Hemant Soren-led government waived Rs 400.66 crore of farm loans of 1.77 lakh farmers, who had taken loans up to Rs 2 lakh last month. Earlier, the government had waived farm loans of up to Rs 50,000 of around 4.73 lakh farmers.
“In the first phase, the government waived farm loans of up to Rs 50,000. Then, it decided to waive farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh in a bid to ease the burden of farmers and pave the way for their sustainable growth and prosperous future,” Soren said.
Shivcharan Kashyap, another farmer from Namkum block, said, “I took an agricultural loan for farming two-three years back. Due to the pandemic and the losses in farming, I was unable to pay the instalments. Now, I have been benefited from the Agricultural Loan Waiver Scheme of the government.” Agriculture Minister Deepika Pandey Singh said, “The farmers were unable to repay their loans, so the state government decided to waive their debts. Now, those farmers whose loans have been waived will be eligible to receive further loans.” PTI SAN NN
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