MUMBAI: With farmers facing heavy losses on account of crop damage due to unseasonal rains, Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation (MSBEF) demanded the restructuring of loans and sought additional funding support for these farmers.
In a letter written to Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari, the union said farmers from many parts of the state was passing through deep distress due to low rainfall successively from last three years and are still waiting for debt relief announced by the earlier government.
This year the distress increased due to heavy and unseasonal rains. "At this hour of crisis all the loan given to farming community should have been restructured and re-phased to avoid those loan accounts becoming NPA," MSBEF, which is affiliated to All India Bank Employees Association, said on Friday.
The union said many farmers have availed loan from private money lenders at a higher rate of interest and are engulfed in a debt trap and their situation has precipitated further due to this year heavy rains and total failure of crop.
"Fresh loans should be sanctioned to these farmers as per the existing RBI guidelines, the union demanded."