JAIPUR: Two days after taking oath, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday announced waiver of short-term loans taken by farmers from cooperative banks and loans of up to Rs 2 lakh from other banks. The waiver would cost Rs 8,000 crore to the state government. The Congress which won the recent assembly elections had promised in its manifesto to waive farm loans. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh governments had already announced loan waivers for farmers.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said this would be done within 10 days of the party coming to power in the state. Ashok Gehlot told reporters the scheme will apply to farmers in debt till November 30.

"During the election campaign, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had promised a loan waiver to farmers within 10 days of forming the government. To fulfil this commitment, we have announced the farm loan waiver," Gehlot said.

"The previous government did not help the farmers and waived loans up to Rs 50,000 only, because these entailed a burden of Rs 8,000 crore. However, we have decided to waive loans worth Rs 2 lakh in the cooperative banks," the chief minister added. In the nationalised, commercial and other banks, where farmers are unable to pay their loans, a waiver on Rs 2 lakh loan will be given," he said.

"Rajasthan farmers never committed suicide. It was in last few years that we heard about them being forced to end their lives, which is quite sad. Hence we have decide to waive loans of such farmers who, because of any circumstances, are unable to pay their due loans. All their loans till Nov 30, 2018, will be waived," he said.

The initiative comes close on the heels of similar announcements made in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where Congress formed the government after registering a win in the recent assembly elections.

The Congress president has moved quickly to take credit for any potential farm loan waiver the government may plan ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi had on Tuesday said he and other opposition leaders will not let Prime Minister Narendra Modi sleep until all farm loans are waived. There are reports the Modi-led BJP dispensation is mulling major relief for farmers but the contours of such relief are not yet known.

Gandhi has been championing the cause of farm loan waivers though he recently said in a press conference that they were not permanent solutions to the farming crisis and technological advances in agriculture in consultation with farmers were needed.

(With inputs from agencies)