Maharashtra asks banks not to divert PM-Kisan money to farmers’ loan accounts

Noticing that some banks had diverted the first instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme to farmers’ loan accounts, the Maharashtra government has instructed banks to return the money to farmers.

Speaking to BusinessLine , Maharashtra’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Suhas Diwase, said that banks that had diverted the PM-Kisan instalment to farmers’ loan accounts have reversed the transactions after the government’s instructions: “There are strict instructions from the government regarding this. We have instructed banks and a circular has been issued. Banks that had diverted money to loan accounts have returned it to farmers.”

Bharat Barve, Assistant General Manager with Bank of Maharashtra, speaking to BusinessLine said, “The government has made it very clear that farmers must get first instalment of PM-Kisan scheme in hands. But the entire banking system is online and if the farmer’s saving account has court or income-tax attachment or if it is NPA, the deposited money goes to the loan account through the system which functions automatically. So there is a situation some banks might face where the government has asked to give money to farmers, but the system has diverted money to the loan account.” Barve added, “But nowhere bank managers are telling farmers that they cannot get PM-Kisan money. All banks have to issued circulars to branches based on PM-Kisan scheme. Each bank has different software with different command systems and banks are ready with remedial resources to override the system and pay money to farmers”. He said that banks are bypassing the system so that farmers get money in hands.

Keda Tanaji Aher, Chairman of Nashik District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd, said, “Almost all nationalised banks are facing this problem. The government has not involved cooperative banks in this process”.

Credit & debit

BusinessLine had reported on Wednesday that three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM-Kisan scheme, transferring the first instalment of ₹2,000 to over one crore beneficiaries, many farmers in Maharashtra complained that the amount had been debited from their account soon after it was deposited.

Diwase explained that some banks have an auto mode system in place where the money deposited into a farmer’s account goes directly to his/her loan account and is adjusted against the farmer’s dues. Hence, many farmers could not get their first instalment. “This will not be repeated,” Diwase asserted.

He said that complaints of farmers whose money was debited from their accounts are being addressed. “This has happened inadvertently in three districts — Nanded, Parbhani and Nashik — because of technical issues while uploading the basic data. We are also checking why money was debited from accounts where there were no technical issues. Today, we have filtered all the data and eligible farmers will get their instalments,” he said. Diwase added that the goof-up was the result of technical glitch and there was no human interference.

However, confusion prevails among some farmers. Balasaheb Mande, a farmer from Madhe Wadgaon village in Ahmednagar district, said, “Nobody is telling us what has happened to our money. We had gone to the bank to seek information, but bank officers are saying that the government has withdrawn our money. No farmer in my village has got any amount,” he said.

A banker with one of the nationalised banks requesting anonymity, said that all eligible farmers will get their money as things are being ‘sorted out’.

But Diwase emphasised that the matter had been sorted out. “All eligible farmers will get their instalments without any delay”

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