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Our Bureau

According to a National Sample Survey study, those in Kerala are among the highest indebted farmers in the country.

Thiruvananthapuram , Oct. 12

The State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) has identified 205 farmers, whose loans will be written off.

Mr M.B.N Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank as also the Chairman of SLBC, said at the meeting of the committee here on Thursday that already 86 cases amounting to Rs 42 lakh had been written off by the commercial banks in the State as on September 30, 2006. The rest of the cases are at various stages of processing.

Mr Rao said the commercial banks had decided to complete the exercise by October 30. He urged the cooperative banks, which had 75 per cent of the cases eligible under the scheme, to speed up decision on the matter.

Debt study

The meeting decided to conduct a comprehensive study on farmers' indebtedness in the State. According to a National Sample Survey study, those in Kerala are among the highest indebted farmers in the country. The proposed study by SLBC will be conducted by the Centre for Management Development here.

The meeting noted that the disbursement of agriculture credit in the State had doubled during the last two years as against the stipulation of three years. In 2003-04, the banks disbursed Rs 4,549 crore, which more than doubled to Rs 9,152 crore in 2005-06. During the current year, the agriculture credit disbursement target is Rs 9,645 crore.

It was pointed out at the meeting that almost 95 per cent of farmers in the State have taken agriculture loans. Apart from the loan waiver scheme for those who committed suicide, the banks had also extended relief measures to the other farmers.

During the last two years, the banks granted relief amounting to Rs 406 crore to one lakh farmers. Besides, about Rs 69 crore worth of loans of 26,520 farmers were written off during the two years, which was over and above the cases of farmers who committed suicide.

More Stories on : Farm credit | Kerala | Natural Calamities

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SLBC to write off 205 Kerala farmers' loans

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