Osmanabad, Mar 17 : The United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that the Central Government would take appropriate measures to relax the two hectare cap to benefit more farmers under the 600 billion rupees loan waiver scheme.

“I am hopeful that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram will take appropriate steps considering the problems of farmers in different regions of the country,” Sonia Gandhi told a farmers rally here.

She also said that after the General Budget announcements several sections of the society felt that the benefits should be granted to farmers having larger land holdings in the Vidarbha and Marathwada region.

“This issue was raised in Parliament by many MPs, including Rahul Gandhi to extend the benefits and therefore I hope that the government will take appropriate steps,” Sonia Gandhi said.

It may be recalled that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had recently addressed a farmer's rally at Beed in Marathwada region. The rally was organised by its party to project him as the man behind the loan waiver package.

Last week, the Congress president had also addressed a 'Kisan Rally' in New Delhi, where she termed the UPA Government's debt waiver package to the farmers as a historic step.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had announced a complete waiver of unpaid loans issued to farmers with holdings up to two hectares in his 2008-09 budget proposals in an effort to boost the agricultural sector. (ANI)