HYDERABAD: While farmers in the state have already been badly hit by poor monsoon this year, the state government’s lackadaisical approach to disbursal of loans has compounded their problem.
As per the guidelines, farmers who avail loans from cooperative banks and adhere to speedy repayment norms of the Telangana State Cooperative Apex Bank Limited (TSCAB) will become eligible for interest subsidies. However, scores of farmers in the state have been denied the subsidy due to the inordinate delay by the authorities concerned in issuing the relevant orders to TSCAB officials.
In other words, against the 12.5 per cent interest levied on cooperative banks’ long-term loans, farmers, who had repaid before the deadline, would be given loans at a subsidised interest rate of 6 per cent. However, this promise has been confined to papers.
While the AP government has already issued orders to this effect and begun giving interest subsidies, farmers in Telangana are yet to get such help from their government.
The state government has earmarked Rs 314 crore for disbursing long-term loans to farmers for the 2015-16 financial year. As on August 20, cooperative banks in the state disbursed Rs 45 crore in long-term loans.
When asked about it, TSCAB officials said they had sent proposals requesting the government to notify the same and issue orders to this effect. However, the issue has been left unattended to for some time now, leaving farmers in a state of despair.
“All proposals have been sent in this regard and the government has agreed in principle to issue orders. We have instructed banks to give interest subsidies immediately after orders are issued,” the official claimed.