Mad rush for farm loans: Pulla Rao

Hyderabad: The farm loan waiver promise by the Telugu Desam Party in its manifesto triggered mad rush for loans between January 1 and March 31 during this year though the farmers did not need have done so, said Minister for Agriculture P Pulla Rao.

Talking to the reporters in the Assembly lobby on Wednesday, Pulla Rao said farmers had borrowed Rs 2,200 crore loans from the banks during this period though the farmers did not need finance any agricultural process. The cooperative banks and regional rural banks had extended loans worth Rs 1,000 crore and of this the chairman of Kadapa district Cooperative Central Bank alone had drawn a loan of Rs 60 crore. More details on the borrowings, which cannot come under waiver scheme, would be unfolded only after bankers submit a list of debtors in the State. The banks promised to give the details in a fortnight, he said.

“We told the farmers that those who availed loans up to December 31, 2013 and those who had repaid loans between January 1 and March 31 in 2014 are eligible for the waiver,'' the Minister said and added that the same guidelines were applicable for gold loans availed for agriculture purpose. The GO put the cut off date at December 31, 2014. He said the government still insisted on Aadhaar enrollment to get benefits of loan waiver. When he was reminded of Supreme Court order on Aadhaar, he replied that the order was specifically in regard to subsidy on cooking gas cylinders and not other schemes.

He said 96 percent of Aadhaar enrolment had been completed and hoped that the process would be completed by end of this month.
Around 43 lakh farmers availed the agriculture loan in the 13 districts of residual Andhra Pradesh, the Minister said.