The South Canara District Central Cooperative Bank (SCDCC) has urged the Chief Minister to extend the due date for agriculture loan repayment till April-end so as to enable defaulting farmers to avail themselves of interest subsidy.
In a release here, bank president M.N. Rajendra Kumar said that hundreds of farmers in undivided Dakshina Kannada have become defaulters for not repaying loans owing to severe drought and demonetisation. It is for the first time that farmers in the region have become defaulters, who, otherwise, had been prompt in repayment.
Mr. Kumar said that the defaulter tag is preventing farmers from availing themselves of interest subsidy offered by the government. Hence, the due date should be extended, he demanded.
He noted that over 92,000 farmers had availed themselves of short-term crop loans and nearly 50,000 farmers had availed themselves of medium-term crop loans from 167 primary agriculture credit cooperative societies in the region. Of them, 5,117 farmers are yet to repay about Rs. 20 crore loan, he said. Mr. Kumar said that majority of these farmers have become defaulters for no fault of theirs and hence, the government should come to their rescue.
