Farmer who killed self was ineligible for loan waiver

Mumbai: A revelation that a farmer, who committed suicide on Tuesday, had not been eligible for relief under the ongoing loan waiver scheme despite owing a local credit society Rs1 lakh, has triggered calls for changing the eligibility conditions.

Shankar Chaire of Yavatmal, whose suicide note mentioned government failure to compensate him for cotton crop loss to pink bollworm, had taken the loan on June 30, 2016 that excluded him from eligibility for the relief scheme. He also owed money to local loan sharks.

Opposition leaders have demanded that the eligibility conditions of the debt relief programme be changed to benefit all farmers without a cut-off date.

Chaire mentioned in his four-page suicide note that, “the Modi government is responsible” for his decision to kill himself as he had not got compensation for the crop damage.

A source in the village said the family of the deceased does not know the extent of Chaire’s indebtedness. He had been more worried about the money that he owed the loan sharks.

When the government announced the loan waiver, many farmers stopped the repayment and waited for details of the waiver scheme.

The opposition parties and the Shiv Sena that shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been demanding to extend relief for the loans released up to June 30, 2017.But the government has rejected the demand.

Spokespersons Sachin Sawant of the Congress and Nawab Malik the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday demanded the eligibility cut-off date be extended.

Mr Sawant alleged that the government was insensitive and had only done the announcements. Loan waiver benefits were yet to reach the farmers, he said.

Mr Malik asked the government to immediately disburse the pest damage compensation.