New govt in Maharashtra announces new farm loan waiver scheme
Nagpur: The Maharashtra government on Saturday announced a loan waiver of upto Rs two lakh for farmers, with a cut off date of September 30, 2019.
The `Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme' of the newly formed Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition regime comes over two years after the Rs 34,000 crore loan waiver announced by the then BJP-Sena government in 2017.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made the announcement in the Legislative Assembly here on the last day of the winter session of the legislature.
"Crop loans outstanding till September 30, 2019, will be waived by my government. The upper ceiling for the amount is Rs two lakh. The scheme will be called Mahatma Jyotirao Phule loan waiver scheme," Thackeray said. Besides, a special scheme would be offered for the farmers who repay their loans on time, he said.
Finance Minister Jayant Patil said the waiver would be unconditional, and details would be communicated by the chief minister's office in due course.
There was no word on how much financial burden the new scheme would put on the state treasury.
Speaking at a press conference after the session was over, chief minister Thackeray said, "The scheme will require minimum documentation and will be hassle-free.
"A film will be made for farmers' better understanding of the procedure for loan waiver...nobody will have to stand in long queues, unllike the loan waiver scheme of the previous government," he said.
Jayant Patil said those who want to avail of waiver will need to approach their bank only with Aadhaar card.
"Bank officials would take the person's thumb print and the government will transfer the amount to the loan account of the farmer," he said, adding that no online form submission will be needed.
MPs, state legislators and government employees will not receive the benefit of loan waiver, Patil said, adding that the scheme will cover farmers who cultivate fruit trees and sugarcane as well as conventional crops.
In the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the government had not fulfilled its original promise of full loan waiver.
He also questioned the government's failure to give assistance of Rs 25,000 per hectare to farmers who suffered losses due to unseasonal rain, a demand which Thackeray himself had made before he became CM.
Fadnavis and other BJP MLAs then staged a walk out in protest. Later, speaking to reporters, Fadnavis alleged that the scheme will benefit very few farmers as most of them were already covered by his government's 2017 scheme.
The government had cheated farmers as it was not offering a full loan waiver, he said, announcing an agitation over the issue.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
