BHUBANESWAR: Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on Thursday urged bankers to extend crop loans to share croppers of the State. Addressing the State-level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting here, he said the State Government has promulgated an ordinance to extend benefits of institutional credit to landless farmers and sharecroppers.
The banks should take advantage of the ordinance and reach out to share croppers.
The State has drafted a legislation ‘Odisha Agricultural Land Leasing Act’ to facilitate leasing of agricultural land and granting recognition to sharecroppers so that they can avail Government services and access to institutional credit. With the State having a high credit potential under priority sector, the Finance Minister advised bankers to care for the credit need of farmers in agriculture and allied sectors.
NABARD has projected an overall credit potential for the State under priority sector at `90,395 crore for 2020-21.
“The Centre has also announced a special stimulus package for the Covid-battered economy out of which several measures are for MSME sector.
The bankers should extend necessary financial assistance to MSME units of the State to bring them back to life,” he said.
Expressing concern over lack of banking facilities in rural areas, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy asked State heads of commercial banks to open more branches in unbanked areas, especially at the panchayat-level. Banks assigned for opening branches in rural areas should cover all the panchayats under the financial inclusion programme by this fiscal-end, he said.
As a large number of migrant labourers are returning to the states, Development Commissioner Suresh Chandra Mohapatra advised bankers to leverage credit in agriculture and allied sector and MSME sector in a mission mode to revive the economy during post-Covid period. Principal Secretary Finance Ashok Meena requested banks to open accounts of returnee migrants and provide them credits liberally for taking up different economic activities. To meet their financial need the State Government is encouraging creation of more joint liability groups and self-help groups for institutional credit, he added.