Chandigarh, June 25
The Punjab government is upset as benefit to farmers from the loan waiver scheme announced by the union government will be negligible. Sources said benefit to Punjab farmers will be Rs 867 crore which is just little over 1 per cent of the total amount, about Rs 71,000 crore, to be waived across the country.
Sources said all banks in coordination with Punjab National Bank, a lead bank in Punjab, have finalised the lists of farmers whose loan is to be waived. Copies of the lists have been submitted to the Reserve Bank of India( RBI) that has stopped the banks concerned to make the lists public till green light from it. “ On the basis of lists submitted to the RBI, we can say benefit to Punjab farmers will be not be more than Rs 870 crore ”, said a senior officer associated with the loan waiving exercise in Punjab. In Haryana benefit to farmers will be of Rs 1,717 crore.
And if the defaulting dairy, poultry farmers are also included in the loan waiving scheme, as reported today in a section of the Press, the total loan to be waived in Punjab may just touch figure of Rs 900 crore. But even then Punjab’s share will be less than 2 per cent of the total loan amount to be waived in the country. However, Punjab’s contribution of wheat to the national pool this year is about 100 lakh tonnes, almost 45 per cent of the total wheat procured for the
national pool.
The RBI had asked banks to display on their bank premises lists of the farmers whose loans have been waived by June 25. However, last night the RBI told all banks concerned not to display the lists till clearance was given by it.
There is only one or two banks which have not finalised their lists because audit is being held in those banks. Otherwise, all banks have submitted lists of the farmers eligible under the loan waiving guidelines issued by the union government.
In this connection, Punjab’s chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh said
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had taken a note of the matter and he would take up this issue with the union finance minister. Obviously, the union government’s policy on loan waiving has not worked in favour of Punjab farmers. As farmers in Punjab are good in repaying bank loans, they will now be at an disadvantage as far as waiving of loan is concerned. “ The union government’s policy is the more you default, the more you benefit”, said a senior officer of a cooperative bank.
In the state, the Cooperative Agricultural Development Bank has advanced Rs 2,300 crore long -term loan to farmers. However, the amount to be waived from the loan advanced by this banks is just Rs 226.14 crore. And it also includes the amount of which farmers will pay 75 per cent of loan dues to get a benefit of 25 per cent under a separate scheme announced for big farmers by the union government. About 72,492 farmers, who have taken loan from the Agricultural Development bank, will be covered under the loan waiving scheme. The banks have advanced Rs 1,73,39 crore to agricultural sector in Punjab.
