Poor credit lending facilities in Punjab, says study

The debt-swap scheme has not been implemented in letter and spirit in Punjab. Data released by the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), compiled by Punjab National Bank between July 2013 and June 2014, states the total target for agriculture sector under annual credit plan was Rs 19,645 crore.

The achievement under the agriculture advances was 103 per cent. The target for the debt swap (on the basis of three per cent of agriculture credit) was Rs 589.35 crore. However, against the target, the banks in the state had disbursed only Rs 115.95 crore during the period, i.e. 20 per cent of the designated target. "The need of the hour is for banks to lend liberally under the scheme to rescue the farmers from the trap of money lenders," said a senior banker.

The data clearly suggests that banks are not realising the gravity of the situation in the state where of farm suicide is very high due to indebtedness. As per the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) survey, peasants of Punjab are most heavily burdened in the country after Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. According to the survey conducted by Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, around 5,000 farmers and farm labourers have committed suicide in the last 10 years.

The analysis of the bank wise position reveals that major banks like Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharastra, Canara Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Bank, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank have not assisted even a single farmer under the scheme.