Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has stressed on the need for banks to sanction loans to tenant farmers in the State.
Addressing a State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that banks were not sanctioning loans to tenant farmers in line with the set targets.
“The SLBC statistics speak volumes in this regard,” the Chief Minister said.
“The State government enacted a new legislation for tenant farmers. The Act is very transparent. Even while protecting the rights of farmers/landowners, the Act facilitates agreement for 11 months between the tenant farmer and the farmer. The bankers have to come forward to help the tenant farmers and do justice to them. Both banks and the government have to work in tandem to extend more loans to the tenant farmers,” Mr. Jagan said.
Seeking the bankers’ cooperation in successful implementation of all welfare schemes in the State, Mr. Jagan said that banks should come to the aid of small-scale and medium industries.
“The banks are expected to respond positively and revitalise accounts under the YSR Navodaya scheme. Andhra Pradesh ranks 12th in utilisation of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. The scheme can be used optimally. The banks can provide loans of ₹10,000 to each petty trader. About 12 lakh petty traders would be benefited. Also, bankers have to focus on loans to self-help groups. The interest-free loans were being given to women’s groups and farmers and the bankers will have to consider them on humanitarian grounds,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said that the previous government had failed to implement the promises it made but the present government was moving forward to implement all the schemes for the uplift of the downtrodden sections of the society. One of the major decisions taken by the government was the linking of the Godavari and Krishna rivers and to divert the river waters to the drought-hit Rayalaseema region, he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath, Agriculture Minister Kannababu, RBI Regional Director Subrata Das and NABARD chief general manager Selvaraj attended the review meeting.
