Bengaluru, (DHNS): Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday, announced a two-phase crop loan waiver scheme for small and marginal farmers but sought 15 days time to come out with the fine print. Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting with representatives of farmers associations, Kumaraswamy said that in the first phase, loans availed by farmers between April 1, 2009 and December 31, 2017 would be waived. Kumaraswamy said that he was committed to implementing his promise that loans availed by all farmers will be waived.

“The total state budget outlay is Rs 2 lakh crore. Besides crop loan waiver, grants have to be provided to various schemes of social welfare, education, water resources and other departments,” he said. In his opening remarks, Kumaraswamy assured the farmers that the onus is on the Government to protect the interest of the farmers in a phased manner and requested farming community not to panic. He explained that the government had to focus on urban development as well as rural development and has the challenge of protecting farmers while maintaining financial discipline in the State.