Punjab: OTS scheme for farm loans on cards

Tribune News Service

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, December 20

As many as 37.33 lakh farmers have availed agriculture loans worth Rs 94,735.40 crore in the state. Of these, 11.12 lakh farmers have availed loans from the Punjab State Cooperative Bank.

Of these farmers, 25.09 lakh are also Kisan Credit Card holders, having an outstanding amount of Rs 66,749.31 crore.

Punjab’s farmers most debt-ridden

The state’s farmers have the highest per farmer family debt of Rs 2.95 lakh. As many as 1.93 lakh accounts have gone into NPA, with an outstanding of Rs 9,581.39 crore due towards them

From among those who have availed loans from cooperative banks, 12,352 farmers have been unable to repay them. The pending loans are worth Rs 367.75 crore

Notably, the state’s farmers have the highest per farmer family debt of Rs 2.95 lakh. In a meeting with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha yesterday, the state government has assured farm leaders that it would coming up with a One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for farmers having availed loans from cooperative banks.

The government has now started gathering information on the outstanding dues of farmers so that a comprehensive policy on the OTS scheme can be chalked out.

The government has assured farm leaders that it would flag the issue of introducing an OTS scheme on pending farmer loans with NABARD.

Data gathered by The Tribune from the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) reveals that of the total agriculture loan beneficiaries, 1.93 lakh accounts have gone into NPA, with an outstanding of Rs 9,581.39 crore due towards them, which is a whopping 10.11 percent of the total agriculture loan.

From among those having availed loans from cooperative banks, 12,352 farmers have been unable to repay their loans, worth Rs 367.75 crore.

As many as 92,302 Kisan Credit Card holders have been unable to repay their dues worth Rs 5,085.75 crore. Of these, 3,259 KCC holders have accounts in the cooperative bank and have an outstanding of Rs 71.23 crore.

Sources in the government say that by working out an OTS scheme for farmers, the AAP-led dispensation is trying to outdo the previous Congress-led regime, which had brought a Farm Debt Relief Scheme. Under this scheme, 5.63 lakh small and marginal farmers had got a debt relief of Rs 4,610 crore.

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