CHANDIGARH, June 3: To ease the financial burden on marginalized communities, the Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday approved a loan waiver worth ₹67 crore for 4,750 Dalit families who had borrowed from the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation.
Announcing the decision after a Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the families had long been seeking relief but were repeatedly ignored by previous administrations. “These families had been running from pillar to post for years because they simply couldn’t repay the loans,” Mann said. “The previous governments failed to address their genuine concerns. Today, we’ve delivered what was long overdue.”
The loan waiver had originally been proposed by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during the presentation of the state’s Budget estimates for 2025–26 in March. On Tuesday, it received the formal green light from the Cabinet.
Cheema, who joined the Chief Minister at the post-meeting media briefing, emphasized that the decision would not significantly impact the corporation’s functioning. “The loan repayment rate in the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation stands at over 84 percent,” he said. “This waiver targets only those families who were unable to repay due to genuine hardship.”
The decision is expected to bring major relief to thousands of families struggling under debt and marks a step forward in the state government’s welfare agenda.
