Uttarakhand CM: no loan waiver to farmers; U-turn on promise

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Friday ruled out any loan waiver to farmers and said his government would instead give soft loans to them at nominal interest.

“We cannot afford to waive farmers loans in the state,” Rawat told reporters here while addressing a press conference to highlight the work of his government in the state after coming to power in April.

The BJP Chief Minister said that since his government is already reeling under a debt of Rs 45,000 crore it has decided to give soft loans to farmers at very nominal rate of interest.

“Our government has decided to give loans to farmers at two per cent interest, which they can use for any activities,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on February 5 in its election manifesto in the run up to state polls, had promised to waive loans of small and marginal farmers. The party also promised to give interest-free loans to small and marginal farmers in the state.