Kiran Kumar Reddy urges banks to extend wholehearted help to farmers, and to pick up on agricultural loaning
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday called on bankers, to ensure that no deserving farmer is deprived of the banks' assistance.
Addressing the 172nd state level bankers committee meeting held at the Jubilee Hall, Public Gardens, on Thursday, KKR urged the bankers to come to the rescue of AP's rain-hit farmers, by promptly rescheduling the Kharif 2010 crop loans, sanctioning fresh crop loans, and passing the interest waiver benefit of the government to the affected farmers.
The chief minister reminded the bankers that agricultural lending has progressively improved, from a mere Rs. 9,019 crore in the year 2003-04 to Rs. 37,573 crore by the year 2009-10. He hoped that this would continue in future, and said that the progress was made possible with the active involvement of the banks.
He said that it was time for the government machinery and the banking community to stand by the farmers during their time of distress, and assure them of both financial and moral support. The chief minister requested the bankers to extend their wholehearted cooperation to the rehabilitation of the farming community, by strictly complying with the directives of the Reserve Bank of India.
KKR added that, for the first time in the country, the state government had come forward to provide interest waivers to the farmers on the crop loans taken by them for Kharif 2010.
He pointed out that this was done despite the severe strain on resources, and that it was a part of the government’s commitment to the farming and weaver communities.
The chief minister also said that the government had issued orders notifying 669 mandals as being affected.
He said that the RBI guidelines are already in place to initiate the follow-up action. The banks have to complete the exercise of converting crop loans to medium terms loans, and provide fresh crop loans to the farmers for Rabi, said KKR.
KKR also appealed to the banks to ensure that no branch manager insists on the payment of interest component, before the loan is rescheduled.
"As per the data available, banks have lent Rs. 16,650 crore for Kharif 2010, achieving 95% of the targeted Rs. 17, 474 crore. I understand that Rabi lending is yet to pickup, since only Rs. 4, 403 crore has been lent against the target of Rs. 8, 788 crore; achieving about 50% of the target, as on 28 December 2010. Banks have to step up lending to achieve the target for Rabi, by mid-Jan, 2011. Since the farming activity is brisk and Kharif loanees, whose crop loans have been converted into term loans, will also have to be provided fresh crop loan, the banks should try to exceed the set target for the current year," says the chief minister
Agricultural minister Vivekananda Reddy, finance minister Anam Ram Narayan Reddy, revenue minister Raghuveera Reddy, minister for Indira kranthi patham Sunita Laxma Reddy, minister for cooperation Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy, SLBC chairman Ramachandran, and others took part in this meeting.
Courtesy: INN