Loan waiver, a no-saver for Punjab farmers

Moonak (Punjab): Hawa Singh is one of the beneficiaries of the UPA government's mega loan waiver scheme. His total waiver is approximately Rs 1,80,000 against a loan that he had taken in 2002.

Since then, this farmer has seen 12 successive crop failures.

“We sold off our tractor, our trolley, everything bit by bit. There was no money for bus tickets. There are times when we went without food,” he says.

To cultivate the land, Hawa Singh turned to the local bania (money-lender) for credit who gave him Rs 1.5 lakh, against which he had to pledge his crop and also his precious land.

“If I am unable to repay, the bania will take my land. The registry will happen automatically,” he says.

But this year, Hawa Singh has got the highest waiver. However, while he is happy, the crisis in his life is not over, it is only deferred for some time. For every handful of farmers who are happy, there are many who are feeling left out.

Kaka Singh’s family is trapped the web of debt and gloom. Just a month ago, his only son committed suicide. He was under pressure to repay a loan of almost Rs 3 lakh.

“We hadn't even heard of the waiver, we knew nothing about it,” says Kaka Singh.

There is no stemming the flow of suicides: seven in the first nine days of June in Moonak alone.

"We give 60 per cent of the country's food and have got just one per cent of the waiver," says MASR activist, Inderjeet Singh Jayjee.

Business is booming for local moneylenders. There is no official estimate of the magnitude of credit that farmers owe to them. Exploitative rates of interest are no barrier.

Laxwinder Singh needed Rs 1.5 lakh for a tractor and he got it with just a signature.

“With banks you never know. Aartiyas (moneylenders) are more dependable,” he says.

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