The Punjab cabinet had announced a waiver for the landless farmers on Saturday

Chandigarh, 4th March: The Punjab cabinet announced on Saturday a debt relief of Rs 520 crore for landless farm labourers. 2.85 lakh farmers will benefit through it though primary cooperative agriculture service societies (PACS). The benefit includes waiver of outstanding principal amount upto Rs 25000 as on March 31, 2017 and simple interest @7% on it till March 2019.

The landless farm labourers have welcomed the decision of the government, but demand the complete waiver as this waiver is quite meagre. They have urged the government to find a trustworthy system to calculate debt and then waive it off. For the purpose, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union (PKMU) will be holding a rally in Patiala on Monday.

Punjab Cabinet Meeting

Presently, there is no viable system or data on the farm labourers, either their number, or the debt they have the farm labourers claim that there are almost 6.5 lakh farm labourer families in Punjab. The PKMU had a survey done with a sample size 1618 labour families, 84% of the families are under debt with each family owing close to Rs 91000 on an average.