Farmers take a Breath of Relief as Raje Government Directs Cooperative Societies to Accept KCC Payments during Rabi Season.
No other country except India has attempted to demonetise 86% of its hard currency in everyday use. The ripple-effects of demonetisation have both positive and negative implications for the common man, but farmers, weavers, tenants and workers are at the sharp end of the currency crunch. While other governments are busy criticizing the Centre, Rajasthan came forth with a creative solution to this problem. Raje-led BJP government directed Rajasthan co-operative departments to accept KCCs (Kisan Credit Cards) for making agricultural purchases. By implementing this visionary step, Rajasthan government has set an intelligent example for other states to pan out economic crisis in the market.
Demonetization a Sore Spot for the Farmers?
Rabi season is right around the corner and farmers need to buy seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to sow their crops. Citing the unexpected surge of deposits in rural Jan Dhan accounts, Finance Minister Jaitley turned down Agriculture Department’s request for allowing the use of old currencies. In this scenario, agriculturists have two major challenges ahead:
- They can’t accept demonetised currency from traders.
- In the light of cash deficiency in state, they don’t have sufficient cash for agricultural purchase.
Rajasthan Government Used ‘KCCs’ to Address this Dilemma
KCCs or Kisan Credit Cards are issued by RBI, NABARD and Government of India to help farmers access adequate credit from time to time. In simple words, farmers can use this credit card to buy stuff and pay for it later.
Using these cards, agriculturists can take crop loans and purchase seeds, manure etc. on credit. The maximum limit of use varies from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000. Government allows extensions during bad crop season.
Taking demonetisation into account, village SCSs (State Cooperative Societies) under CM Vasundhara Raje’s instructions, adopted a lenient approach towards farmers.
How Farmers can Use KCC?
- Farmers registered under SCSc can use their crop loan accounts for buying agricultural resources from marketing federations.
- Unregistered farmers can transfer funds via drafts, NEFTs, Pay-orders and cheque to their Cooperative Bank accounts for purchasing goods from SCSs. Maximum limit of purchase is set as Rs. 5,000.
In consultation with the CM, state leaders O.P. Meena and Ajay Singh have approached RBI and Ministry of Economic Affairs to extend debt settlement dates for farmers . They’ve also requested the Centre to relax withdrawal limits for farmers this month.
With this, Rajasthan sends a strong message across the country that they’re with the Centre in their fight against black money and corruption. Moreover, it’s a lesson for other state governments that rather than criticizing and debating on this issue, they should focus on devising solutions to solve public problems.
