Proposal to hike farmers' loan waiver limit gets cabinet nod

RANCHI: The cabinet of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday passed a proposal appointing the state department of cabinet coordination and vigilance as the nodal agency for dealing with matters pertaining to the Central agencies.

The 12 member ministerial council on Wednesday approved the proposed amendments to the Jharkhand Executive Rules of Business 2000 assigning the cabinet coordination department to take care of cases pertaining to the central agencies, cabinet secretary Vandana Dadel said. The move, officials said, comes after the recent spate of arrests of government officials, ministers and a CM by the ED in money laundering cases over the past few years.

The Soren cabinet also approved another proposal to increase the loan waiver limit of Jharkhand's farmers under the Mukhyamantri Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana. "Until now, the maximum loan waiver allowed under the scheme was Rs 50,000 (per farmer). It has now been raised to Rs 2 lakh for the ongoing financial year with the cut off date (for eligible beneficiaries) of March 31, 2020," Dadel said. In all, the cabinet on Wednesday approved 37 proposals.

The Soren cabinet also approved a proposal to carry out the registration of beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Maiyya Samman Yojana on an offline basis to facilitate the beneficiaries who are applying for the scheme and facing issues in digital registration. "Forms can be submitted offline at Panchayat offices and Anganwadi Kendras and the beneficiaries will get a note of receipt. Digital entries will be carried out at the back end," Dadel added.

In another decision, the cabinet approved a proposal to slash the rates of air-ambulance schemes which are being run by the civil aviation department to various cities.

"Airfares were slashed by up to 50%. For instance, the Ranchi-Mumbai flight, which took Rs 7 lakh, has now been reduced to Rs 4 lakh. Likewise, Ranchi-Kolkata airfare would cost Rs 1 lakh in place of Rs 3 lakh and Ranchi-New Delhi airfare would cost Rs 3.1 lakh," Dadel added.

The cabinet also approved a proposal to strengthen and improve the govt-run medical colleges, hospitals and health centres in two phases and okayed the proposal to rope in private doctors for carrying out surgeries at government hospitals under Ayushman Health scheme.