On one hand, the opposition members in the state legislature are repeatedly alleging that farmers have been deprived of the loan waiver. At the same time, Shiv Sena member Prakash Ambitkar, yesterday claimed that he had received Rs 25,000 even though he hadn't applied for the loan waiver. This has virtually created a flutter in political circles.
This sensitive issue rocked the Assembly and in his reply, the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the house that his government had made some mistakes while implementing the Rs 34,022 crore farm loan waiver scheme, but had rectified all these issues. It hasn't been 24 hours since Fadnavis' statement and the glitches in the much hyped scheme are beginning to appear.
Abitkar, a legislator from Radhanagari in Kolhapur district, pointed out that he has become the latest beneficiary of the state government's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanmaj Yojana (CSMSSY), even though MLAs are supposed to be exempted. The revelations by Ambitkar raise serious doubts over Fadnavis' assurance that the CSMSSY would be in place till the last eligible farmer is included.
While speaking on this flaw, Ambitkar said, “Under the scheme's provisions, corporators, MLAs, MPs and members of zilla parishads are not eligible for the loan waiver scheme. This is what a GR issued on June 28 categorically states. I want to know how this happened. I never applied for the loan waiver or any of its incentives. There needs to be a detailed inquiry into this. In fact, it's not me alone, but also teachers, retired school principals and Class II officers of the MSEB who have been named in the list. Farmers' names have come up without anybody bothering to check the list. I will unearth this scam and expose it.”
Under the provisions of the scheme, loans of up to Rs 1.50 lakhs will be waived by the government, while farmers who repay their loans regularly will get rebates of up to Rs 25,000 as incentive. The scheme was announced on June 24 and was initially meant to be rolled out before Diwali. But a series of technical errors, fudging of data by banks, duplication of Aadhaar card data and account number duplications meant the scheme is still stuck in limbo, nearly six months since inception.