Waives Off Loans Worth тВ╣67.84 Crore Benefiting Around 4,800 Families
This scheme is not just about loan waiver itтАЩs about restoring dignity, delivering justice, and offering a new beginning
In a major reprieve to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community in the state, the Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, on Tuesday approved a loan waiver worth тВ╣67.84 crore, benefiting around 4,800 families.
A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister at his official residence.
Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief MinisterтАЩs Office stated that the Cabinet granted ex-post facto approval for the Waiver of Loans Disbursed up to March 31, 2020, for loanees of the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development & Finance Corporation (PSCFC). The waiver covers all loans disbursed by the PSCFC up to the mentioned date, offering significant relief to SC and Divyangjan (persons with disabilities) loanees. This move will benefit a total of 4,727 loanees for an aggregate amount of тВ╣67.84 crore.
All 4,727 cases (including 4,685 defaulting loanees and 42 regular loanees) will be covered under this loan waiver scheme. тАЬNo Due CertificatesтАЭ (NDCs) will be issued by the District Managers of PSCFC. The full amount of тВ╣67.84 crore comprising principal, interest, and penal interest calculated as of April 30, 2025тАФwill be reimbursed to the PSCFC by the state government. The cut-off date for calculating the final interest amount will be the date on which the government issues the notification to implement the scheme.
Consequently, the total waiver amount may increase, and any such increase will also be reimbursed by the government. Importantly, loanees who have previously availed benefits under earlier waiver schemes are also eligible for coverage under this initiative. No recovery proceedings will be initiated against loanees under PSCFC loan regulations post-waiver.
Their accounts will be considered fully settled as of the cut-off date. However, loanees who have filed court cases against the Corporation will not be eligible unless they unconditionally withdraw their cases and provide documented proof.
As per the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes constitute 31.94% of PunjabтАЩs total population. Many members of this community have availed loans from PSCFC to establish self-employment ventures aimed at their economic upliftment. However, some borrowers have been unable to repay their loans due to circumstances beyond their control, leading to defaults.
With the implementation of this waiver, 4,727 poor SC and Divyangjan beneficiaries will receive relief amounting to тВ╣67.84 croreтАФcomprising тВ╣30.02 crore in principal, тВ╣22.95 crore in interest, and тВ╣14.87 crore in penal interest (calculated up to April 30, 2025). This initiative will help restore their dignity and enable them to lead a more respectable life in society.
Additionally, the waiver will allow beneficiaries to utilize the freed-up financial resources for productive work to support their families. It will also empower PSCFC to extend fresh loans to other deserving SC individuals in the future.
This marks the beginning of relief and dignity for thousands of families who have been burdened by debt for years. A total of 4,727 families will directly benefit from this scheme as these loans were given to help them start their livelihoods by opening small businesses like dairy farming, grocery shops, tailoring, boutiques, wooden furniture work, building material or hardware shops, leather goods manufacturing, education loans, or restaurants.
These families could not repay their loans due to circumstances such as the main earning member passing away, prolonged illness consuming all their savings Or having no other source of income left. As Recovering these loans from such people was unjust, so the state government has decided to waive them off. It may be recalled that PSCFC is a trusted institution established in 1971 that has been providing low-interest loans to the Scheduled Castes community.
So far, it has disbursed loans worth тВ╣846.90 crore to over 5.41 lakh people. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has once again proven that they donтАЩt just make promises but they fulfil them as previous governments treated the SC community merely as a vote bank, the AAP government understands the pain of SC families and has always given them equality, rights, and respect. This scheme is not just about loan waiver itтАЩs about restoring dignity, delivering justice, and offering a new beginning.
