CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced a waiver of crop loans up to Rs 75,000 for farmers who had obtained crop loans between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh.Making an announcement under Rule 110 of the Tamil Nadu assembly, the chief minister announced a flat Rs 75,000 waiver for loans between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh, and a Rs 35,000 relief for loans exceeding Rs 1 lakh.Earlier, the waiver for farmers who had obtained a loan above Rs 75,000 was fixed at Rs 35,000 but now the waiver amount has been increased by Rs 40,000.Already, the crop loan waiver for farmers who had obtained a loan up to Rs 75,000 was waived completely.This latest decision infuses roughly Rs 953.06 crore in state funding to directly benefit an additional 1.38 lakh farmers. With this addition, the govt’s total crop loan waiver package stands at Rs 6,720 crore, extending relief to 13.34 lakh farmers.The CM noted that the move comes in response to representations submitted by farmers’ associations during a recent meeting.
