This will cover about 93,000 farmers of which about 78 per cent belong to the small and marginal categories, the bank said in a statement on Friday. The bank has set June 23, 2008, as the timeline for finalising the list of farmers eligible for debt waiver under the scheme.
The bank has already started the due diligence exercise. Senior bank executives, including Prakash P Mallya, chairman and managing director of Vijaya Bank, are visiting various branches as part of the sensitisation programme.
Besides, the bank has issued guidelines with regard to the scheme, which have been displayed at different branches in vernacular languages.
Prior to this move by Vijaya Bank, State Bank of Mysore and Syndicate Bank had stated that they will waive around Rs 1,000 crore each under the package.