Bhupinder Singh Hooda waives off Rs 154 crore worth loans as polls draw nearer

KARNAL: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday waived off loans amounting to Rs 154 crore drawn by 1.25 lakh people, mostly backward or poorer sections, unleashing yet another round of pre-poll bonanza.
Hooda also announced interest waiver on loans to farmers, hike in old-age pension and new pay scale, thus targeting a crucial vote-bank ahead of the assembly polls slated two months later.

The schemes will be implemented from November 1, 2014, the day Haryana came into existence, he told the audience in Karnal.

He compared his state's growth with Gujarat and claimed Haryana's was better.

"I challenge BJP to implement its model in Haryana… our state is much above Gujarat in growth," he said.

Projecting Congress as a pro-farmer party unlike the BJP, Hooda announced waiver of interest rates on crop loans for farmers who pay the principal amount on time.

"The rate of interest on crop loan, which has been brought down from 11 per cent to 4 per cent by this government has been waived off for those paying principal amount on time," he said.

In case of long term loan of farmers, the CM said that the government would pay half the interest of farmers who repay their loan on time.

Addressing the rally, Hooda said Haryana would follow Punjab’s pay scale pattern for government employees starting November 1, 2014.

The Congress veteran also promised an increase in old-age allowance and social security pensions like the Ladli scheme under which the amount for beneficiaries will be raised to Rs 1500 from Rs 1000 per month.

The opposition party INLD had promised voters old age pension of Rs 1200 with an early increment of Rs 100 in its poll manifesto.