THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the moratorium on agriculture loan and SARFAESI Act, the state government is now bracing to take on the public sector banks on the ‘agriculture gold loan scheme’ under the interest subvention scheme (ISS) of the Centre.
Speaking to Express, Agriculture Minister V S Sunilkumar said the public sector banks in the state have been cheating farmers by providing loans meant for agriculturists to others. Over 90 per cent of the people who avail these loans are not farmers or do not undertake any farming activities.
A majority of those who avail the loan either deposit the amount in the same bank or use the loan for other purposes as the interest rate is 4 per cent after interest subvention. So the state government will not continue to remain a mute spectator as the act of public sector banks is amount to corruption. The ineligible person who claims the interest subsidy announced by the Centre under ISS is indulging in corruption and the public sector banking is aiding the corrupt practice.
The Minister also said the banks should be ready to provide credit to borrowers only after checking their agriculture credentials. For instance, the agriculture loans should be given to only those farmers having government-issued Kisan cards or agriculture officer-attested land holdings. Instead, what the banks are now doing is pumping thousands of crores of public money into the hands of ineligible people in the guise of promoting farming, just because these customers provide gold as collateral security for the loan amount, which cannot be agreed on, he said.
“The state government has already taken up the matter with the Union Government and the RBI and the apex body of the banks assured us that if the charges levelled against the banks are proved, penal action would be taken against them. So the state government would take up this matter with the RBI with relevant documents,” he said.
Commenting on this, State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) convener G K Maya said, “Banks have been giving the loan under interest subvention scheme. We cannot effect changes just merely because of some suggestions. If the present system has to be changed, a Central intervention is required as the credit is based on the ISS. Moreover, the agriculture gold loans issued by the banks have been playing a vital role in minimising the impact of the loan sharks in society. Since thousands of crores of rupees was infused into the rural economy as loans, the dependence of the public on private financial institutions is relatively less,” she said. So, the SLBC cannot subscribe to the view of the government in this matter. Further, it is not easy to check the agriculture credential of each customer who applies for the loans by each bank, she said.
