Maharashtra Govt Hopes To Unearth 10-15 Lakh Fake Accounts Through Farm Loan Waiver Scheme

The government of Maharashtra announced a mega farm loan waiver scheme of Rs 30,000 crore in June this year. To apply for the same, farmers of the state have to give their Aadhaar card number and the biometric proof of their identity.

These two checks, officials estimate, would help the state government unearth as many as 10-15 lakh bogus accounts.

The Maharashtra government provides loans to farmers at 6 per cent interest rate. If the loan is of up to Rs 1 lakh, and is repaid in time, the entire interest is waived off. If it is of above Rs 1 lakh, and repaid in time, the interest charged is 2 per cent. Officials say that the bogus accounts were created to take advantage of these schemes.
According to this report in Mumbai Mirror, the State Level Bankers’ Committee’s figures say ‘that there are around 89 lakh farmers in the state who have bank accounts and take agricultural credit. Out of these, 51.51 lakh farmers applied for loan waiver till Friday and the government expects that by September 22, the last date for applying for loan waiver, another 15 lakh farmers will apply.’

Close to 10-12 lakh won’t apply since they don’t meet the eligibility criteria. These would be government servants, income tax payers, present or past elected representatives, etc.

And the difference, officials say, would be made up by the bogus accounts which would be unearthed in course of the implementation of the loan waiver scheme. Through this, the state exchequer is expected to save Rs 1,000 crore annually.

However, the Congress, the main opposition party in the state, remained skeptical. Mumbai Mirror quoted its spokerperson, Raju Waghmare, as saying that “the state government first should focus on ensuring that benefits of farm loan waiver reach the farmers. Then instead of jumping to conclusions about bogus accounts, it should first introspect why lakhs of farmers could not fill the form”.