Minister for Agriculture today Tummala Nageswara Rao said that even though the State government was in deep debt, it had kept its word by providing waivers of crop loans of up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers in the State.
Speaking to the media, Tummala said that so far 22 lakh farmers had received loan waivers. He said that only those farmers with errors in their Aadhaar and bank accounts had not received the waiver amounts, and instructed officials to correct those errors and complete the waiver process.
The minister assured farmers that there were no restrictions on the loan waiver, and that the process of correcting errors was ongoing.
"Farmers who have not received the loan waiver should approach the agriculture officials, who will be available at Rythu Vedikas and mandal offices to assist with the process," Tummala said.
Alleging that the previous government had neglected farmers' welfare and misled them for ten years, he accused the BRS leaders of shedding "crocodile tears" now.
According to banks, a total of 41,78,892 farmers have taken loans, with outstanding dues of Rs 31,000 crore. Most of these loans were below Rs 2 lakh, taken by small and marginal farmers, Tummala said.
He urged farmers not to worry about the loan waiver and focus on their agricultural activities.