Nagpur: The state government’s scheme to waive farmers’ loans taken from private lenders, which was launched in 2014, has put the moneylenders in a spot four years down the line. As a fall out of the scheme’s implementation, a number of lenders have been booked for flouting the licence conditions and are facing criminal action.
Offences have been registered against over 50 of them in Amravati, Akola, Buldhana and Wardha in the last one month. Action is under way in other parts of the state too. A majority of the lenders are jewellers who provide loans after taking gold as surety.
The lenders had called a meeting on Friday and have sought government attention. A proposal has been forwarded to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis through MLC Girish Vyas. The lenders plan to move court if the government does not help.
Here is a backgrounder to the issue. The BJP government had come up with an over Rs7,000 crore package for farmers’ relief during the first year of its regime. This included a Rs376 crore scheme to waive loans towards private lenders.
A subsequent amendment, which helped in reducing the state’s outflow towards the waiver scheme, has also brought trouble for the lenders. It made only the loans granted to borrowers living within the same geographical area for which the private lender had a licence eligible for the waiver. The private lenders are issued licences by the state’s department of cooperatives. The permit also defines the area of operations which can be a taluka or even just a village.
This nearly halved the state’s outflow for the scheme. But, it left the farmers miffed as a large number could not get the benefit. A PIL was filed by a Shetkari Sanghatna against the amendment. “The court has ordered to either go ahead with the waiver for all or initiate action against the erring lenders,” said Rajesh Rokde, of the Nagpur Sarafa Association — the moneylenders body.
Rokde said the government has found lenders as a soft target and action has been initiated against them. Officials of the department of cooperatives said action is being taken all over the state. The action is being taken for violation of the licence conditions by lending beyond the specified area.
The lenders are arguing that the amendment only concerns implementation of the scheme. No criminal action can be taken against them for the reason that the borrower is out of the area mentioned in the licence.
The lenders also say that even if the geographical area is defined in the licence, they cannot be stopped from lending persons who come from other places to their shops. “We get borrowers from all over the district and no client can be denied,” said Rokde.
They have also argued that it is the private lender who provides timely assistance to farmers who have no other resort during emergencies.
