Chhattisgarh disburses Rs 1356 cr farm loan

The farm loan disbursed has been about 51% of the target set for the season

Farm loan to the tune of Rs 1356.61 crore had been disbursed during the kharif season 2015 in Chhattisgarh.

"The farm loan disbursed had been about 51 per cent of the target set for the season," Chhattisgarh State Co-operative Bank (Apex Bank) chairperson Ashok Bajaj said. The state government had set a target is to disburse Rs 2650 crore short-term loans during the current Kharif season, he added.

In all, 1333 Chhattisgarh Primary Agriculture Co-Operative Samities had been set across the state for the disbursement of farm loan. The state government had been providing short-term farm loan at zero per cent interest rate. Of the loan, 60 per cent is cash while the farmers would purchase fertilizers, seeds for the remaining amount.

The process of giving loan started in the state from 1 April. Bajaj said till June 30, Rs 1356.61 crore had been disbursed to 451000 farmers across the state. Kabeerdham district top the list with the disbursement of Rs 147 crore farm loan to over 30,000 farmers. In Balod, Rs 146 crore was distributed among 52,000 farmers.

The loan disbursement is however slow in the Naxal-infested districts of the state. In the worst insurgency-hit district of Sukma, only 100 farmers had approached for the farm loan. They were disbursed Rs 70 lakh. In Dantewada district, 95 farmers applied for the farm loan worth Rs 93.31 lakh while Rs 2.33 crore was disbursed to 651 farmers in Bijapur district.

Chhattisgarh had set a target to produce 7.65 million tonne (MT) of paddy during the kharif 2015.