Implement loan waiver uniformly: Farmers

Trichy: The Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers' Protection Association has urged the state govt to implement the agricultural loan waiver without any discrimination based on the size of land holdings owned by farmers.In a letter to chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday, association's secretary S Vimalanathan welcomed the directive to collect complete details of loans taken from cooperative societies. However, he expressed concern over the election promise of a differential waiver — full waiver with interest for farmers owning land less than five acres and only 50% for those owning land more than five acres"We request that the farm loan waiver scheme be implemented without any discrimination between small and large farmers. All agricultural and allied sector loans, including those for animal husbandry, inland fisheries, and dairy farming, should be fully waived," he said.The association noted that previous govts had implemented farm loan waivers uniformly. It argued that since minimum support prices (MSP) and procurement prices are uniform for all farmers, the loan waiver scheme should also follow the same principle of equality.