CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Government is also contemplating to remit the cooperative loans of the farmers on the pattern of Tamil Nadu to give relief to those in distress, Finance Minister Birender Singh said here on Thursday.

Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the State Level Bankers' Committee meeting for Haryana, he disclosed that the State Government had already requested the Tamil Nadu Government to provide details of the remittance procedures to study the feasibility of implementing this scheme. He said that it was not a political matter but had social implications in view of the suicides committed by the farmers due to their inability to repay loans. Earlier, while addressing the bankers, he urged them to make drastic reduction in the interest rates and simplify the procedure for advancing loans. He stressed the need for inclusion of other informal sectors in the list of their borrowers.

He suggested that norms should be evolved so that the rate of interest could not exceed more than seven per cent.

Banks should also contribute in helping the Government to find out other ways and means to bring the farmers out of distress. The bankers should also implement pro-farmer and pro-poor policies being formulated by the State Government from time to time so that the real benefits reached the grassroot level. They should also make the loan delivery system more transparent, easy and simple.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab National Bank and Chairperson of the Committee, S.C. Gupta, said that 60 new branches of Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks were opened in the State raising the total number of branches from 1,643 to 1,703. Also, advances increased by Rs. 10,448 crores from Rs. 19,455 crores to Rs. 29,903 crores during the review period, thereby showing a growth of 53.7 per cent. Priority Sector Advances of the State increased by Rs. 5,984 crores from Rs. 12,666 crores to Rs. 18,650 crores during the review period. In the Agriculture Sector, the advances increased from Rs. 6,175 crores in March 2005 to Rs. 8,305 crores in March 2006 during the review period.

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