Samajwadi Party joins farmers’ protest

MEERUT: A group of farmers along with workers of Samajwadi Party on Monday organised protests outside various government banks in the city claiming that the peasants have been sent recovery notices despite the state government’s announcement of loan waiver.
Meanwhile, bank officials said that notices have been sent to those defaulting farmers who do not meet the criteria set by the government for loan waiver.“Before elections, the BJP claimed that it will waive the loans taken by all farmers in the state. However, now farmers are being sent recovery notices,” said Atul Pradhan, an SP leader.
The fine print of the loan waiver scheme reads that only crop loans for small and marginal farmers taken before March 31, 2016 up to Rs 1 lakh will be waived. It is expected to cost the government exchequer Rs 36,000 crore. “When it comes to making promises, they don’t provide these details. At that time, they needed votes. Now, they are stating these conditions and harassing farmers through these banks. This is unjust and amounts to cheating,” added Pradhan.
Notices have been sent to some farmers from the District Cooperative Bank in Meerut. “I had taken a loan of Rs 50,000 and have not paid the installment because the government has announced that loans will be waived off. Now, I have received a notice from the bank and I am being asked to pay penalty on the default. How is this loan waiver?” asked Rajesh Ahlawat, a farmer.