Slippage of farm loans into NPAs high, say bankers

Naidu appealed to the bankers to reschedule the farm loans even though the RBI had not yet accepted its request

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday informed the State-level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) that his government would come up with a concrete plan for the loan waiver scheme soon.

Naidu said he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the Centre's helping hand with regard to the debt waiver scheme in the state. The chief minister said he would get back to the Prime Minister with a concrete plan in this regard.

Naidu appealed to the bankers to reschedule the farm loans even though the Reserve Bank of India had not yet accepted its request.

Meanwhile, SLBC president and chairman and managing director of Andhra Bank C V R Rajendran said the crop loan disbursements during the current season had almost come to a halt as banks were unable to recycle the funds owing to non repayment of loans and mounting overdues.

The slippages of April loans into NPAs are on a very high side resulting in higher provisioning ultimately affecting the credit rating of the banks, according to him.

"The need of the hour is to bring clarity on the proposed debt waiver with due publicity...I also request the government to put in place an effective and undisputable recovery mechanism, which can tackle the issue effectively," he said.