By IANS,
Nagpur : The Maharashtra government Tuesday announced a relief
package worth Rs.6.2 billion (Rs.620 crore) to the crisis-ridden farmers in
the state.
Nearly four million farmers, who were left out by the central government’s
Rs.71-billion loan waiver package, are expected to benefit from this
initiative.
Unveiling what is being seen as the ‘election-eve’ package, Chief Minister
Ashok Chavan told the state assembly on the concluding day of its winter
session that the multi-category measure would reach out the benefit to the
farmers who have taken loans before 1997 and those who have been repaying
the loans regularly.
The package will also cover loans taken for goat rearing, poultry farming
and other farm related activities, which were not waived by the earlier
relief measures.
It also has a one-time-settlement concession of up to Rs.20,000 for the
farmers who have taken loans in the current season if they pay the remainder
in one go.
The government has also taken upon itself the responsibility for paying the
examination fees and bearing the medical expenses of children of farm
families identified as suffering from acute distress by the Narendra Jadhav
committee appointed by it.
The package benefit will also extend to farmers owning land above to
hectares who were not eligible for loan waiver in the earlier package.