When the state-level banking committee (SLBC) submitted its list of debt-ridden farmers in Maharashtra on July 3, it caught attention for a different reason. Interestingly, the list featured 'farmers' from Mumbai city and suburban, where, according to the agriculture ministry, there is no agricultural land.
The list said there are 1,388 farmers from Mumbai city with a combined debt of Rs 309 crore. Another 316 farmers from Mumbai suburban has a combined debt of Rs 33.12 crore.
The list shows the district-wise break up of the number of farmers who owe less than Rs.1.5 lakh, with about 694 farmers from Mumbai. These loans have been disbursed by various banks including Bank of India, Dena Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, HDFC and Union Bank of India.
Disbursement of crop loans in a place where there is no agricultural land has left many puzzled, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and officials from the co-operative ministry. The chief minister said, “I too have a doubt about this 'existence' of farmers and agricultural loans in Mumbai. We will have to verify every single case.”
However, there are allegations that it was a move to meet the targets of credit. “Is it done to favor someone under the pretext of crop loan? All these things need to be thoroughly investigated,” demanded Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant. He added that by issuing a list of 36 lakh beneficiary farmers, the chief minister himself proved that his earlier statement claiming benefits for 40 lakh farmers was false. “This list includes farmers from Mumbai also. The CM is repeatedly proving himself to be a liar,” said Sawant.
According to the list by SLBC, there are a total of 2.35 lakh borrowers from Buldhana district. However, the list tweeted by Fadnavis counts 2.49 lakh farmers in the district with crop loans below Rs 1.5 lakh.
“How can the number of beneficiaries be more than the total number of borrowers?” asked Sawant. Similar is the case with the numbers from Yavatmal district, while Wardha district, one of the worst affected in farmer suicides, does not even appear in the list. “Does this mean that not even a single farmer from Wardha is in debt?” Sawant asked.
