Congress-led Telangana government on Thursday started to fulfill the promise of waiving off farm loans, a promise it made in run up to assembly elections and in the first phase the government transferred the amount of Rs 6,098 crore to 11.5 lakh farmers who have loans upto Rs one lakh rupees. The state government led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday initiated the farm loan waiver scheme.
The first phase of the waiver began today. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu and Minister Thummala Nageshwar Rao participated in the ‘Rythu Nestham’ program at the Secretariat and interacted with farmers regarding the loan waiver before releasing the funds. Today, the state government has released Rs 6,098.93 crore into the accounts of 11.50 lakh farmers who have loans up to Rs 1 lakh.According to government officials, a total of Rs 31,000 crore worth waiver will benefit close to 50 lakh farmers. According to officials, Reddy has instructed that the loan waiver be celebrated as a festival.
As per officials, by the end of this month, the state government will release funds into the accounts of farmers who have loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh while in the month of August, the state government will release funds into the accounts of farmers who have loans up to Rs 2 lakh. The officials said that the state government will waive off farmers’ loans amounting to around Rs 31,000 crore.
On May 6, 2022, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had promised a Rs 2 lakh farmer loan waiver in the Warangal declaration if the grand old party formed the government in the state. The Congress wrested power from the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS in the southern state and formed its government for the first time after the formation of the state in 2014.