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Journalism of Courage
As the Union Government works out the exact details of the farm loan waiver announced in the Budget, the first concern has been raised by Punjab, which incidentally contributes 50 per cent of the total foodgrain in the national pool. The state has pointed out that local custom ensures that most of Punjab’s farmers remain beyond the purview of the relief announced by the Centre.
As per the scheme, debt waiver is available to farmers owning less than 5 acres. In Punjab, close to two-thirds of land holdings tilled by individual farmers are less than this size. However, the problem arises as the ownership of land is still shown in a consolidated land holding — i.e. a farmer may show he owns 10 acres of land, though it is divided among his four sons, tilling 2.5 acres each separately.
Says Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal: “The Union Finance Minister took farm holding and not the individual ownership of land as qualifying unit. In most cases, the ancestral land remains a joint holding.” Farm holdings in Punjab are known as Khevat and as per data collected by the state Government, only 29 per cent of farmers in the state have land holdings less than 5 acres. Therefore, only they will be entitled to this relief, as against 66 per cent individual farmers who own less than 5 acres.
“This is a custom unique to Punjab and the state should not be penalised. Half the land holdings in Haryana are less than 5 acres. Around 80 per cent of land holdings in Himachal Pradesh are less than 5 acres. Ditto for most southern states. This creates a faulty perception that Punjab’s farmer is prosperous, whereas he has been suffering enormously,” says Badal.
The total institutional outstanding loan in Punjab is Rs 22,000 crore, but under the current scheme, the total amount to be waived in Punjab would be only Rs 1,223 crore. The neighbouring Haryana is expected to benefit by around Rs 4,600 crore.
Rural indebtedness in Punjab has also been exacerbated by local moneylenders. The total outstanding loan in the informal sector in Punjab is as high as Rs 13,000 crore.
Says Finance Minister Manpreet Badal: “The moment the Finance Minister issued this debt waiver scheme, farmers all over the state started celebrating thinking that their entire loan has been waived off. Of course, this is not so.”
