Tamil Nadu - Nagapattinam   

Banks’ concern over non-repayment of loans by fishermen

NAGAPATTINAM: Managers of several commercial banks in the district are keeping their fingers crossed on collection of loans advanced to fishermen for purchase and repair of boats that were damaged in the December 2004 tsunami.

A senior bank official told The Hindu on Saturday that as per the directions of the government all commercial banks joined together and advanced liberal loans to fishermen for purchase of new mechanised boats.

As many as 520 loans were sanctioned to the tune of more than Rs.35 crore.

The cost of each mechanised boat was Rs.20 lakh and the government provided a subsidy of Rs.5 lakh for each boat purchased by fishermen. The balance amount of Rs.15 lakh was given as loan.

The official said most of the borrowers were yet to repay their loans and the banks were now running after the borrowers to collect the dues. The banks were not in a position to seize the mechanized boats due to various legal formalities that had to be followed. It was also a tough task to locate the boats purchased by the fishermen.

The fishermen reportedly misled bank officials that their boats were engaged in fishing in one place or the other.

At a Nagapattinam district consultative committee meeting of bankers, organised by Indian Overseas Bank, the lead bank of the district, on Friday, bank managers decided to conduct special camps to recover the loans.

The loans were provided under the Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for the purchase of mechanised boats with motors, fishing nets, repair of boats, etc.

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Banks’ concern over non-repayment of loans by fishermen

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