Hyderabad, July 14: Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy today made it clear to banks that the loan waiver scheme being implemented by the Central Government was a one-time benefit and there would not be any loan waivers in future.
Releasing the State Credit Plan for 2009-10 prepared by the State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) here, the chief minister explained that in order to help the farming community come out of their debt-trap, the Union Government had implemented loan waiver. Farmers in Andhra Pradesh derived the maximum benefit out of the scheme since the Congress government had taken measures for the farmers to raise loans from the banks.
Referring to the repayment of loans, Rajasekhara Reddy said that it was necessary that all the beneficiaries who took loans should repay on time. Or else, the banking operations would be adversely affected. “I will ensure that the government will take steps to inculcate fiscal discipline among the borrowers,’’ he assured.
On the crop insurance scheme, the chief minister was unhappy that the farming community was not taking the matter seriously. “Farmers, especially those from the coastal districts, are a little indifferent to the insurance scheme. Since they have no irrigation problem, they think things will not go wrong. For instance, in Guntur district not even 10 per cent of the farmers insured their crops. What if something goes wrong?’’ he asked and wanted both the bank and government officials to motivate the farming community to go in for insurance.
Asking bank officials to be more friendly to the common man, Rajasekhara Reddy said his government had initiated several innovative programmes for the economic stability of the middle and lower middle class people. “We have started urban self-help groups. The target for the Urban SHGs was Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 9,000 crore for the rural SHGs. We have converted loans released through SC/ST and Minority Finance Corporations as subsidies and banks should come forward to give loans.’’ The chief minister also spoke in detail about the Forest Rights Scheme, under which tribals are given the right to land and provided Rs 6 lakh to each beneficiary to develop the land. “Under the scheme, land is also given to Vana Samrakshana Samitis. Banks should release loans to them and also to others who will take up sheep and goat breeding, dairy, horticulture, coffee plantations,’’ he suggested.
The chief minister also wanted banks to support the Indiramma Housing scheme and other welfare programmes launched by the government.
He said a special SLBC meeting would be conveyed next month to discuss the cooperative farming programme. He thanked the bankers for their support to the government-sponsored schemes.
Earlier, in his welcome address, SLBC president and Andhra Bank chairman-cum-managing director RS Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh stood second after Tamil Nadu in the credit-deposit ratio. Against the RBI norm of 60 per cent, the State registered about 102.13 per cent.
Banks in the State could extend finance to the tune of Rs 43,803 crore recording an achievement of 93.20 per cent, he said and wanted the government to take steps to weed out fake pattadar passbooks. He wanted the government to exempt banks from paying advertisement tax on the display boards erected at bank branches and ATM centres.
–Agencies–