Chennai: Former AIADMK minister O S Manian and PMK floor leader Sowmiya Anbumani on Monday urged chief minister C Joseph Vijay to announce a complete waiver of crop loans availed by farmers from cooperative societies.Participating in the discussion on Governor’s address in the assembly, Manian said the partial loan waiver announced by the govt had failed to provide meaningful relief to farmers.“You announced crop loan waivers twice, but they have not substantially benefited farmers. In your election manifesto, you promised a complete waiver of loans obtained by micro and small farmers. That promise is yet to be fulfilled,” he said.The state govt had first announced a waiver of cooperative crop loans up to Rs 50,000 and later enhanced the ceiling to Rs 75,000. But farmers have demanded a full waiver.Manian urged the govt to act immediately, pointing out that farmers must pay loan instalments by June 30. “If the dues are not cleared, they will not be able to obtain the next crop loan. With the non-release of water from the Mettur dam on June 12, farmers have already suffered. Agricultural labourers have also been affected due to the lack of work,” he said.Echoing the demand, Sowmiya Anbumani called for a comprehensive waiver of cooperative crop loans. Referring to Maharashtra’s loan waiver scheme, she said loans availed by farmers from cooperative, public-sector and private-sector banks had been written off there.“At the very least, Tamil Nadu should completely waive crop loans obtained from cooperative societies. Officials may cite the financial burden involved, but the govt should look beyond such concerns and provide relief to farmers,” she said.Highlighting agrarian distress, Sowmiya claimed that 1,968 farmers died by suicide between 2021 and 2023. “Farmers burdened with relatively small debts are driven to despair, while those owing thousands of crores continue to live comfortably abroad,” she said.
