The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Scheme for cooperative loan defaulters announced

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 09, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Scheme for cooperative loan defaulters announced

Staff Reporter

Small and big farmers to benefit from the one-time scheme

VELLORE: The State Government has announced concessions in the payment of interest under a one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for those who have taken farm and non-farm loans from the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Rural Development Banks but whose loans were overdue, to provide relief to them from the hardships they faced following drought for the last three years.

Concessions

In a release, the Collector, S. Gopalakrishnan, said the concessions will be applicable to the farm loans that have been assessed as non-performing assets (NPA) as on March 31, 2001 and the non-farm loans assessed as NPA as on March 31, 2003.

As per the OTS Scheme, small and marginal farmers who pay their principal, interest and the additional interest on the overdue farm loan arrears as on March 31, 2001 are exempt from payment of the penal interest as on March 31, 2001 and the interest, additional interest, penal interest and other charges payable from April 1, 2001 till the date of payment under the OTS scheme. A total of 8,662 small and marginal farmers would be benefited by this concession.

Big farmers who paid the principal, interest and additional interest on the overdue farm loan arrears as on March 31, 2001 and 50 per cent of the interest payable from April 1, 2001 till the date of payment under the OTS scheme are exempted from penal interest payment as on March 31, 2001 and 50 per cent of the interest payable from April 1, 2001 till date of payment under OTS and the penal interest and additional interest payable from April 1, 2001 till date of payment under the OTS. A total of 766 big farmers in the district would be benefited.

Defaulters of non-farm loans whose loans have been declared as NPA as on March 31, 2003, who fully paid the principal, interest and the interest on the overdue arrears as on March 31, 2003 and the entire interest on the principal due from April 1, 2003 till date of payment under OTS are exempt from penal interest payment due as on March 31, 2003 and the penal interest and additional interest due from April 1, 2003 till date of payment under the OTS. A total of 1,043 borrowers would be benefited by this.

The Collector said the payments under the OTS could be made under two options.

Under the first option, the entire payments could be remitted in a single instalment to avail of the benefits.

Under the second option, 25 per cent of the specified amount under OTS could be paid in three months (before July 12, 2005) and the balance 75 per cent within six months (before January 12, 2006) along with interest under the prevailing rate.

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