Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who also holds finance portfolio, has announced Rs 34,000 crore farm loan waiver, as promised in his party manifesto, with riders. Presenting his maiden Budget on Thursday, he announced farm loan waiver to the tune of Rs 2 lakh to each farmer.
In view of the burden that the waiver scheme would put on the exchequer, Kumaraswamy also announced proposals to mop up additional resources, including increase in the rate of tax on petrol by Rs 1.14 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.12 per litre. He also proposed a hike in the additional excise duty on Indian-made liquor by 4 per cent across the board on all 18 slabs.
He said, "I have decided to limit the loan amount to Rs 2 lakh. Due to this crop loan waiver scheme, farmers will get the benefit of Rs 34,000 crore."
"All defaulted crop loans of farmers up to December 31, 2017 will be waived in the first stage. For farmers, who repaid the loan within time as an encouragement to the non de-faulting farmers, I have decided to credit the repaid loan amount of Rs 25,000 whichever is less," he added.
Kumaraswamy, who is under tremendous pressure from the coalition partner Congress, has fulfilled the coalition dharma and continued all the populist and welfare schemes of the previous Siddaramaiah Government. However, he did not give the details of the number of farmers to be benefited from the scheme. During the election campaign, the JD(S) in its manifesto had promised to waive the farm loans from cooperative and nationalised banks within 24 hours of coming to power.
The Chief Minister said that to allow farmers to avail new loans, the Government will take action to issue clearance certificate by waiving the arrears from the defaulting account. "For this purpose, Rs 6,500 crore is earmarked in 2018-19 Budget," he said.
The Chief Minister said that the welfare schemes like Anna Bhagya (for free rice) and Ksheera Bhagya (meals for school students) "introduced by the Siddaramaiah Government" will continue to stay and the current Government will bring in more schemes.
"Growth rate in 2016-17 was 7.5 per cent and it increased to 8.5 per cent in 2017-18. (Our) priority is to mobilise resources for farm loan waiver. (We are) committed to fulfil promises made in our manifestos," he said.
The families of the Government officials and officials of the cooperative sector, farmers who have paid income-tax for the past three years, and other ineligible farm loan recipients will be outside the purview of the loan waiver scheme.
The former Chief Minister and chairman of the coordination committee of the coalition Siddaramaiah had opposed the very idea of presenting a new Budget by Kumaraswamy. However, the intervention of the High Command put an end to the controversy and asked Kumaraswamy to go ahead.
The Congress-JD(S) coordination committee, constituted to oversee the smooth functioning of the Government, approved the Common Minimum Programme, which includes waiver of farm loans, creation of one crore jobs and allocation of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for irrigation over the next five years.
The BJP hit back at the Budget by saying Kumaraswamy has failed to waive off the farm loan fully. leader of the Opposition BS Yeddyurappa hit out at Kumaraswamy and said he was cheating the farmers. He said, "There is no clarity in this Budget. It's only an eyewash. It's the Budget for the few districts won by JD(S) legislators. We will go to people and protest this."
"North Karnataka, Malnad and coastal Karnataka have been completely ignored in the Budget. Kumaraswamy has cheated the farmers. This is a Budget of younger brother and elder brother. Kumaraswamy has burdened common man by hiking fuel prices," Yeddyurappa said.
"The coalition Government should feel ashamed of this Budget. It should be ashamed of telling lies to the people. It is a betrayal. Is this why you have been made the Chief MinisterIJ We will discuss the Budget as well as our further course of action on July 12," he added.
Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy said that it was a misconception that the Budget is limited for Hassan. "All the programmes implemented by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will continue. This Budget will benefit all the masses," he said. Addressing the customary Press Conference in Bengaluru he blasted the BJP and critics of the Budget and said that the overall development of the State is his Government's motto. He also justified the hike in petrol and diesel.
The farmer-focused Budget, which has been provided for by increasing taxes on petrol, diesel, excise and energy consumption as well as cutting back of budgets to other programmes, comes a day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government raised the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops as part of its programme to double farmers' incomes by 2022.