The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to disburse farm loans amounting to Rs 7,000 crore among farmers at a curtailed interest rate of 2 per cent through cooperative banks and cooperative societies.
The move is aimed at mollifying farmers, who find it difficult to get loans from commercial banks, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“It has been noticed that lakhs of farmers, particularly those living in remote areas, don’t get support from commercial banks. We iwill disburse farm loans worth Rs 7,000 crore before March next year. This will boost the economy in the rural areas,” cooperation minister Arup Roy said on the sidelines of a programme at the New Secretariat building in Calcutta on Wednesday.
According to sources, the government decided to increase the quantum of farm loan through the cooperative banks and societies after receiving complaints that farmers in remote areas don’t get loans from commercial banks.
“There are 710 gram panchayat areas where no bank branches could be established despite the government’s best efforts. So the state government recently decided to allow 2,661 cooperative societies to work as branches of cooperative banks so that more farmers can be brought under the banking net,” said a senior cooperation department official.
“The quantum of farm loans has been increased to Rs 7,000 crore from Rs 5,200 crore last year. The rate of interest has been brought down to 2 per cent from 4 per cent,” he added.
Several governments have been facing farmers’ wrath. Thousands of farmers led by Left parties had marched in Maharashtra demanding farm loan waiver.
The Left Front had in September organised a long march in Birbhum demanding farm loan waiver and ease of getting loans from banks.
“The march was attended by many people in rural areas. This shows there is discontent among farmers in Bengal. The chief minister does not want to take any chances before the 2019 polls,” said a senior official.
Sources said the state government had assured the cooperative banks that it would shoulder the burden of the amount that would be required to decrease the interest rate on farm loans.
The government has also decided to disburse loans worth Rs 1,200 crore among self-help groups through the cooperative banks and societies.
“Last year, the amount was Rs 1,000 crore… The loan amount was increased as the government had received complaints that self-help groups were not receiving financial support from commercial banks,” an official said.