Punjab Cabinet clears Rs 68-crore loan waiver for 4,727 SC families

Indian Express

3 days ago

The Punjab Cabinet Tuesday approved a proposal to waive loans amounting to Rs 67.84 crore taken by over 4,700 Dalit families from the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation (PSCFC). The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, decided that loans disbursed till March 31, 2020 will be waived.
Talking to the reporters after the meeting, Mann said Finance Minister Harpal Sigh Cheema in his budget speech in March had promised to waive the debt. 'With the Cabinet approval, the promise will now be fulfilled,' he said.
'This marks the beginning of relief and dignity for thousands of families who have been burdened by debt for years. A total of 4,727 families will directly benefit as these loans were given to help them start their livelihoods by opening small businesses like dairy farming, grocery shops, tailoring, boutiques, wooden furniture work, building material or hardware shops, leather goods manufacturing, education loans, or restaurants,' said Mann.
The CM said that these loans were given before 1995. 'These families could not repay their loans due to circumstances such as the main earning member passing away, prolonged illness consuming all their savings or having no other source of income left. As recovering these loans from such people was unjust, so the state government has decided to waive them off,' Mann said.
Cheema, who was also present at the media briefing, said the debt had been pending for the past 20 years and added that neither the Congress nor the Akali Dal-BJP governments of the past cared for SC families when they were in power.
'The full amount of Rs 67.84 crore comprising Rs 30.02 crore in principal, Rs 22.95 crore in interest, and Rs 14.87 crore in penal interest will be reimbursed to the PSCFC by the state government. The cut-off date for calculating the final interest amount will be the date on which the government issues the notification to implement the scheme,' said Cheema.
Later, an official spokesperson of the chief minister's office said that the loan waiver covers all loans disbursed by the PSCFC, offering significant relief to SC and Divyangjan (persons with disabilities) loanees. All 4,727 cases (including 4,685 defaulting loanees and 42 regular loanees) will be covered under this loan waiver scheme. No due certificates will be issued by the district managers of the PSCFC.
Loanees who have previously availed benefits under earlier waiver schemes are also eligible for coverage under this initiative. No recovery proceedings will be initiated against loanees under PSCFC loan regulations post-waiver.
Their accounts will be considered fully settled as of the cut-off date. However, loanees who filed court cases against the Corporation will not be eligible unless they unconditionally withdraw their cases and provide documented proof.
As per the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes constitute 31.94 percent of Punjab's total population. Many members of this community availed loans from PSCFC to establish self-employment ventures aimed at their economic upliftment. However, some borrowers have been unable to repay their loans due to circumstances beyond their control, leading to defaults, said the spokesperson.
The PSCFC is a trusted institution established in 1971 that has been providing low-interest loans to the Scheduled Castes community.