Just 7 pc farmers benefited under debt waiver in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: The Centre's much-talked-about agriculture debt waiver scheme has achieved little in getting distressed farmers in Punjab fresh loans as just seven per cent of them have got new advances from banks in the state.

While small and marginal farmers are reluctant to seek fresh lending for not again falling into debt trap, the bankers, on the other hand, are adopting cautious approach for sanctioning of new loans to farmers whose debt were crystallised, banking experts revealed.

The matter assumes significance as the main aim of Agriculture Debt Waiver & Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDR), 2008, under which centre gave a debt relief to the tune of about Rs 71,000 crore to small and marginal farmers, was to provide fresh loans to farmers benefited under this scheme so that they could restart their farming or economic activity.

Bankers in Punjab provided fresh credit to only 12,781 farmers till September 2008, which works out at seven per cent of farmers benefited under debt waiver scheme, as per the State Level Bankers Committee's (SLBC) latest report.

These farmers were advanced just Rs 95.35 crore, accounting for 14 per cent of total waiver amount, the report said.