Mainstream banks in the district have failed to achieve the target set for agricultural credit delivery for the first quarter of this fiscal.
According to the data revealed in the district consultative committee for banking development, which was held on Tuesday, out of the total credit disbursed in the quarter, the target of agricultural credit delivery was 18 per cent. But the banks could achieve only 11.3 per cent, pointed out lead bank manager V Jayaprakash.
The Central Government and RBI has given clear guidelines to achieve the target in agriculture.
But banks are consistently failing in achieving the target. According to the explanation by senior bank officials, some confusion related to distributing gold loans might have resulted in the low achievement of target.
But farmer organisations allege that most of the banks are not actively distributing agricultural credit. It is alleged that the banks are subtly denying and discouraging agrarian credit.
The senior officials also pointed that currently most of the agrarian loans are being distributed as crop loans.
“In fact, there is a government guideline that says that crop loan should not exceed 60 per cent of the total loan disbursed. We are planning to disburse more loans for asset creation,” an official said.
“There are ample opportunities in Ernakulam district for starting schemes like ‘rural godown scheme’,” the official said. They said banks are reluctant to give educational and agricultural loans.
According to the data given by the district planning officer, the administration received 982 applications for interest waiver of educational loans in the BPL category. As many as 418 applications are pending with different bank branches and certain banks are not using the proper methodology to calculate the interest rate.
District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth said the administration is planning to start financial literacy centres in all block panchayats.