12 lakh farmers in Haryana to get loan moratorium benefit
CHANDIGARH: About 12 lakh farmers from Haryana will benefit from the three-month deferment of the date to pay farm loan interest or instalments. This would be applicable to farmers who took loans from co-operative or commercial banks.
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday announced to extend the date for repayment of crop loans by farmers to June 30.
The decision was taken in accordance with the directions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to mitigate the burden of debt servicing brought about by disruptions on account of coronavirus crisis.
Haryana agriculture department officials said there were about 25 lakh beneficiaries of the farm loans availed from the co-operative and commercial bank in the state.
About 12.37 lakh farmers who took a loan from primary agricultural societies (PACS) will not get the benefit of deferred loan payment as February 29 was the last date of payment, officials said.
Those who would qualify for the benefit include about 11 lakh farmers who took loans from commercial banks under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme. They would get an extension till June and can avail 3% interest subvention if they repay within the stipulated period of three months from the due date, officials said.
In addition, there are 85,000 farmers who had taken loans of about ₹2,900 crore from the district central co-operative banks. They would get an extension until September.
Officials said the matter of deferring loan payment for about 7,000 farmers who have taken loans worth ₹45 crore from Land Development Bank is also being considered by the state government.
The RBI on March 27 had communicated to the banks and financial institutions that in respect of all term loans (including agricultural term loans, retail and crop loans), all commercial banks including regional rural banks, small finance banks and local area banks, co-operative banks, allIndia financial institutions, and NBFCs including housing finance companies are permitted to grant a three-month moratorium on payment of all installments due between March 1 and May 31.
The RBI also said that the repayment schedule for such loans as also the residual tenor (the length of time until the loan is due), will be shifted across the board by three months after the moratorium period.
However, interest will continue to accrue on the outstanding portion of the term loans during the moratorium period, the RBI communication said.