Give relief to farmers in agri loan payment: Collector to bankers

Nagarkurnool: District Collector Hemanta Keshav Patil directed bank officials to restructure agricultural loans worth over Rs 1,778 crore to provide financial relief to drought-affected farmers in the district.

At a Special District Consultative Committee (DCC) meeting on Tuesday, the Collector said eligible farmers in 10 severely drought-affected mandals would be given a 12-month moratorium, with the repayment period extended up to 60 months. In partially drought-affected mandals, the repayment period would be extended up to 36 months as per guidelines.

Officials informed the meeting that 65,893 farmers had availed crop loans worth Rs 1,125.10 crore, while another 27,297 farmers had obtained agricultural term loans worth Rs 653.41 crore. The Collector instructed banks to identify eligible farmers and their loan accounts village-wise and ensure that all deserving farmers received restructuring benefits. He also directed banks to sanction fresh crop loans and working capital loans in time for the next cultivation season.

The Collector urged bank officials to adopt a humanitarian approach towards drought-hit farmers and avoid pressure, threats or forced loan recovery from eligible beneficiaries. He directed Agriculture department officials to create awareness through Rythu Vedikas, village meetings and financial literacy camps.

Mandal-level bank coordination meetings should be conducted within a week and progress reports submitted. Additional Collectors B. Chennayya and Deva Sahayam, Lead Bank Manager Chandrasekhar, RBI AGM Pradeep Chandra, NABARD DDM Chandu, District Agriculture Officer Yashwanth Rao and other officials attended the meeting.

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The Hans India