HYDERABAD: The state government’s prestigious farm loan waiver scheme might have been over but there are several farmers who have not benefited from the scheme, mainly because of the faulty implementation of the scheme at the lower level by bankers across the state.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which met here on Monday, under the chairmanship of J Geetha Reddy, reviewed the progress of the scheme.
According to sources, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and opposition members blamed officials for farmers being deprived of the benefit.However, the finance department officials, who were present at the meeting, have put the blame on the banks. It may be noted here that the bankers were not invited to the meeting.
According to the officials, farmers are currently facing three types of problems with regard to loan waiver.
Even though the farmers made claim to waiver, bankers insist that they did not receive some claims. The claims, which the banks claim were not received by them till now, amount to Rs150 crore in four districts of Telangana.
However, if the records of all the banks are verified, the amount will be more than Rs 300 crore, the bank officials have claimed.The second problem is that bankers should waive a loan amount to a maximum of `1 lakh including the interest accrued on it till August 2014.
However, in some cases, bankers adjusted the money, released by them in four instalments, against the interest accrued in three years. Therefore, the bankers showed the principal amount as still due from the beneficiary farmers.
According to officials, the amount still due from farmers to bankers is around Rs 100 crore.
The third problem is that when the scheme was announced, some districts were declared as drought-hit. In drought-hit districts, crop loans should be converted as short-term loans.
Though the government waived the loans, bankers did not pass on the benefit to the farmers but converted the crop loans to short-term loans and charged interest on it. By this, the farmers lost `100 crore.
“We are helpless but the farm loan waiver scheme is over,” according to finance officials.
However, they pointed out that bankers should pass on the benefit to the farmers, considering the huge repayment of Rs 17,000 crore loans by the government on behalf of the farmers.
Bank links job to loan repayment
According to sources, some members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC )said that a young farmer had been denied crop loan waiver benefit due to the faulty decisions of the local branch of a bank. However, later, he got a job at a private bank which says he can join the service only if he clears the farm loan.
Banks may adjust input subsidy too
The state government has decided to pay `8,000 per year to farmers from next year as input subsidy. However, finance officials fear that once the amount is deposited in the accounts of farmers, the banks will adjust that amount against the crop loan dues, thereby depriving the farmers of input subsidy benefit.