Banks can’t adjust farmers’ dole against loans: Govt

Nagpur: The state government on Tuesday made it clear that banks should not adjust against any pending farm loans the Rs6,000 amount assured to farmers with small land holding under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.
The government issued the order that banks should not deposit this amount allotted to farmers in any of their loan accounts. This is to ensure that beneficiary farmers get this amount credited in their saving accounts (or Jan Dhan accounts) only, and they can use this money as cash benefit.

The resolution in this regard, issued on Tuesday, has specific mention of district central cooperative banks, and other executive credit societies, from where rural farmers generally get loans for different purposes.

“Cooperative banks and credit societies may have loan accounts of farmers and even pending dues under various heads. But, the amount under PM-KISAN should not be adjusted against any of these loans,” says the order issued on Tuesday.

Farmers largely depend on crop loans for their sowing expenses. The loans of one year tenure are availed each season by a large section. Apart from it, there are long-term loans for buying capital assets like tractors and other equipment.

Under PM-KISAN, the central government has started depositing cash benefit of Rs6,000 annually directly into the bank accounts of farmer families owning less than 5 acre land.

“The Rs6,000 incentive has to be taken as a grant in aid, which is also paid in times of natural calamities like floods or hailstorms. Such amounts, though directly credited into the farmers’ accounts, cannot be adjusted against an earlier debt. The government has clarified that the same principle will apply to the yearly incentive to be paid to farmers,” said Kishore Tiwari, chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM), a state government think-tank on farm crisis. On an average, a cotton grower of Vidarbha gets finance up to Rs18,000 per acre of land, he said.

Tiwari has sent a proposal on behalf of VNSSM to the state government to declare a similar dole for farmers not covered in the central scheme. It has been mooted that farmers not covered under the central scheme on account of holding more land should be granted a similar dole by the state. He said a move on these lines is expected in the state budget, which is to be tabled this week.

Tiwari appealed to well-to-do farmers who take cash crops and horticulture and make good income even if they have low land holding, to forgo the farm dole so that this amount could be used for genuine beneficiaries. “Many farmers have missed the opportunity of getting this benefit due to small shortfalls and strict exclusion criteria. State government should make some provisions in state budget to benefit these farmers. Farmers growing grapes, BT cotton, and sugar cane, who use excessive water and chemical fertilizers should leave this money for other deserving farmers,” appealed Tiwari in a press statement.

Until February 26, state government has successfully registered 55,92,886 farmers from more than 41,000 villages in state for this scheme. They have already started receiving Rs2,000 as first instalment of this benefit in their bank accounts from February 26.

FARM DOLE ROLLOUT IN STATE

Number of eligible farmers registered: 55,92,886

Total number of villages in state: 44,084

Number of villages where farmers are included: 41,888

Farm dole update in Vidarbha till 8am on February 26

District

Number of villages

Number of farmers

Yavatmal

2017

145934

Chandrapur

1657

110650

Akola

972

115762

Gondia

907

114258

Bhandara

855

108643

Washim

796

107081

Nagpur

1800

103831

Wardha

1234

71184

Gadchiroli

1575

68106

Amravati

1931

182622

Buldhana

1296

193552

TOTAL

13744

13,21,623

Source: NIC portal, till Feb 26