Cautious On Loan Waiver!

T D P president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu appears to have learnt a lesson or two from his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao on crop loan waiver scheme. While KCR acted a bit haste in announcing the loan waiver scheme with certain conditions, Naidu was a bit cautious in taking a decision. While signing the first file immediately after swearing in at Guntur, Naidu announced that he would come out with a plan on loan waiver scheme within 45 days that would be applicable to farmers and DWCRA groups.

The first file the AP chief minister had signed was not on waiving loans, but on appointing an expert committee and finalizing its guidelines within 15 days. This committee would look into all aspects of the loan waiver scheme and come out with a report suggesting modalities. A final decision would be taken based on the committee recommendations, Naidu said. In a way, it is a disappointment for farmers who were expecting an announcement waiving all crop loans. However, they would have to wait for a few more days before taking to streets. In a way, Naidu cleverly bought time to implement his pre-poll promise!