16 per cent beneficiaries avail fresh loans in Punjab, 19 per cent in Haryana

The debt waiver scheme of 2008 that endeared the Congress to the farm sector, has failed to achieve one of its primary objectives — to lure back farmers to banks.

Banks in the agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana have disbursed fresh loans to less than 20 per cent of farmers who had applied for waiver and relief. In Haryana, the figure is 19 per cent of the total 5.2 lakh farmers who had claimed relief, while it is only 16 per cent in Punjab. In this state, 3.5 lakh farmers have benefited from the waiver scheme.

While public sector banks, regional rural banks (RRBs) and cooperative banks have together provided fresh credit to 1.10 lakh beneficiaries out of the total 5.2 lakh in Haryana, private sector banks have not given out fresh loans to any of the 950 eligible farmers, the State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meet observed on Tuesday.

In Punjab too, fresh credit has been issued to just 55,243 account-holders out of the 3.5 lakh.

Private sector banks in the state have so far issued fresh loans to just one of the 1,524 farmers who benefited from the scheme; cooperative banks have done so to 13 per cent of accounts with them. Out of the Rs 1,041.10 crore claims that crystallised under the debt waiver in Punjab, only Rs 308.18 crore have been issued as fresh loans.

Banks are now trying to find out why eligible farmers are not going for fresh credit. An official at the Punjab National Bank, the convenor bank of SLBC, said: “Farmers are possibly going to banks other than the one in which their account has been settled. Farmers could also be approaching moneylenders for fresh credit as it is hassle-free.”

... contd.