Two hours after taking oath as MP CM, Kamal Nath waives farm loan

Bhopal: Loans of up to Rs 2 lakh of Madhya Pradesh farmers will be waived, with Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Monday signing a file to the effect.

Addressing the media, Kamal Nath said: "After joining this post (of Chief Minister), the first file I have signed is of farm loan waiver of Rs 2 lakh each, as I had promised to the farmers."

"Our schemes of providing incentives of investment will only be imposed after 70 per cent people from Madhya Pradesh get employment. People from other states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh come here (to Madhya Pradesh) and local people don't get jobs. I have signed file for this," CM Kamal Nath added.

The move follows a promise by Congress president Rahul Gandhi during the poll campaign that if people of Madhya Pradesh voted for Congress, then they would implement farmers' loan waiver within 10 days of coming to power. Kamal Nath was sworn in as the state's 18th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

After Kamal Nath signed on the file pertaining to waiving off farmers' loans of up to Rs 2 lakh, Principal Secretary, Farmers' Welfare and Agriculture Development Department, Rajesh Rajora issued the loan waiver order.

The order said: Madhya Pradesh Government has taken a decision to write off short-term crop loan of eligible farmers up to the limit of Rs 2 lakh, as on March 31, 2018, from nationalised and cooperative banks.