Tamil Nadu govt rolls out Rs 12,110 crore crop loan waiver scheme, CM gives away certificates to farmers

Economy

The certificates state that loans taken from cooperative banks and due on January 31, 2021 have been waived. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Agriculture Minister K P Anbalagan and senior officials led by Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan participated in the event at the state secretariat, a government release here said.

PTI

February 13, 2021 / 02:41 PM IST

Marking the rollout of the Rs 12,110 crore crop loan waiver scheme for over 16 lakh ryots in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Saturday gave away certificates to nine farmers here.

The certificates state that loans taken from cooperative banks and due on January 31, 2021 have been waived. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Agriculture Minister K P Anbalagan and senior officials led by Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan participated in the event at the state secretariat, a government release here said.

On February 5, Palaniswami had announced waiver of Rs 12,110.74 crore crop loans availed by 16,43,347 farmers from cooperative banks. The move was considering damage to crops following back to back cyclones ‘Nivar’ and ‘Burevi’ last year, besides the heavy unseasonal rains.

The waiver would pave the way for farmers to continue cultivation without any hassles, Palaniswami had said. Following the announcement, Government Orders were issued on February 8, setting the stage for the scheme’s implementation.