Rs 2-lakh farm loan-waiver: Why is corporation needed? Will Revanth Reddy govt go Chandrababu way?

HYDERABAD: Why is there a need for a corporation for effecting the Rs.2-lakh fame loan waiver? Will the Revanth Reddy government come up with a workaround for the promised one-time waiver of Rs 2 lakh “at a time”?

Is the Telangana Government taking cue from the Telugu Desam Government between 2014-19 in Andhra Pradesh. Well, the TDP government could not implement the same loan waiver fully and the last two instalments were left unreleased.

Or, will Revanth Reddy stick to his commitment to waive the Rs 2 lakh loans all at once?

In a newspaper interview Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that he would set up a corporation for the Rs.2 lakh farm loan waiver to all farmers at a time.

When it’s a one-time settlement, the government could fix the guidelines which it should have done by now, and disburse the same to the banks from the State exchequer directly. Why is there a need for a corporation? Doesn’t it cause a delay?

Recall what former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has done regarding the farm loan waiver. He constituted a committee led by Kotaiah, former chairman of the NABARD, and had the liability assessed.

If all farmers had to get the benefit, the estimated amount was pegged at more than Rs.80,000 crore. Then came the fine print with how many farmers would be ineligible.

Finally, the then Andhra Pradesh CM decided to pay Rs.26,000 crore. However, that was staggered into five installments. The Chandrababu Naidu Government paid three installments.

It had issued orders for the release of another Rs.8,000 crore towards the payment of the fourth and fifth installments in March 2019 just before the state went to polls.

However, the succeeding YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Government junked the idea as it had its policies for farmers - Rythu Bharosa assistance of Rs.12,500 per farmer. The same was clubbed with BJP Government’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammam Yojana (PMKSY) under which Rs.6,000 per eligible farmer per acre a year which was launched in 2018.

Now, the intent of setting up a corporation is not clear. The Telangana CMO asserted that the loan waiver would be a one-time settlement. Will it be done as promised or the Andhra Pradesh 2014-19 template be followed? Clarity is needed on this.

To another question in the same interview on the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrashekar Rao suggesting that his reports were indicating a renewed term for YS Jagan, Revanth Reddy said the two leaders had a nexus and that KCR had a grievance to nurse against Chandrababu Naidu.

Is Revanth Reddy supporting Chandrababu Naidu more overtly than covertly? After all, Revanth Reddy considers the TDP his alma mater and Chandrababu Naidu his guru.