RBI to release ₹2,000 crore more to TS to tackle cash shortage

Government told to speed up release of first instalment of rescheduled loans

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be releasing ₹2000 crore to the banks in Telangana on Thursday and this will be in addition to the ₹3,600 crore available in their cash chests. Therefore, a total of ₹5,600 crore will be available for disbural to the farmers, informed Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday.

The Minister said he had taken up the issue of cash shortage in the rural areas with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely several times in the recent past which has helped in RBI releasing up to ₹9000 crore last month and another ₹2600 crore earlier this month. This, he hoped, would help tide over the current situation of cash crunch in rural areas.

Crop loans

After holding a meeting with the bankers and farmers associations in the State, Mr. Dattatreya talked to the media where he advised the State Government to act swiftly in release of first instalment of rescheduled crop loans of 2013 and 2014 for 10,893 farmers to the extent of ₹44.45 lakhs in Medak, Ranga Reddy and Adilabad areas.

He regretted that despite the issue being discussed in three successive State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meetings and even after being brought to the notice of Agriculture Minister by the farmers themselves, there was no action though the issue was on the records of the respective district collectorates and others.

Delay in remittance of third instalment of loan waiver between November 2016 and January 2017, status of remittance of amounts into the bank accounts of farmers for the fourth instalment of loan waiver by the banks, cash availability to farmers in rural areas, and so on were highlighted by the representatives concerned at the meeting.

Bank-wise information

It was decided that bank-wise and branch-wise information on the extent of cash distributed to the farmers district-wise should be gathered and pasted before the branch, pass a resolution in the next SLBC meeting making it compulsory to pay cash to the farmer holding Kisan Credit Card for up to ₹1 lakh, conduct district level bankers committee meetings to understand ground realities on crop loans and cash availability plus making sure cash is available at the bank branches.

The Minister has urged bankers to stay in regular contact with RBI office here for release of cash, interact regularly with public representatives and farmers representatives till the situation eases and The SLBC coordinator was urged to meet farmers associations at least once a week. Top bank officials including RBI GMs Subbayya and Meghanath, SBI GM and SLBC Convenor U.N.N.Mayya and others participated.