Farmers participating in the monthly agriculturists’ grievances day meeting at the Collectorate here on Friday requested the District Collector R. Nanthagopal to direct officials of the Vellore District Central Cooperative Bank (VDCCB) to liberally sanction loans to small and marginal farmers who have applied for loans for rilling deep bore wells to enable them to tide over water scarcity.
C.K. Dhanapal, a farmer of Vellakuttai said that about 1000 farmers had applied for loans and were awaiting sanction of the same to commence drilling bore wells. While affluent farmers have the wherewithal to drill the wells, small and marginal farmers have no other option but to seek loans from the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS).
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Vijayakumari, General Manager, VDCCB said that loans have been given to all those who were eligible as per the norms fixed by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). As per these norms, only those who have lands to a minimum extent of 2.5 acres can be given loans. Besides, the distance between an existing borewell and the site of the new borewell should be at least 750 m, she said.
A farmer said that many farmers who have less than one acre of land have been sanctioned loans. Another farmer said that despite the Collector having directed the officials to sanction the loans to 370 small and marginal farmers in September 2014, many applications have been rejected by the officials.
Thiruguna Ayyappadurai, Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Vellore Region said that loans could be given only to those who provide surety to a value of Rs.1 lakh. Loans to the tune of Rs.125 lakhs at the rate of Rs. 1 lakh each have been given to 125 farmers who were found eligible as per the NABARD norms.
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Demands
Perumal Reddiar, a farmer of Ussoor wanted the Agricultural Engineering Department to purchase two tractors. Muthukumaran, a farmer of Vaniyambadi wanted adequate shelters to be provided in the Uzhavar Sandhai (farmers’ market) in Vaniyambadi. Udayakumar, a farmer of Vaniyambadi wanted compensation to be provided to farmers for the damage to coconut by pigs. Vijayaraghavan of Pernambut wanted trenches to be dug along the agricultural lands bordering the reserve forest in Pernambut block in order to prevent the straying of wild elephants into the agricultural fields.
A.C. Venkatesan wanted check dams to be constructed across the jungle streams in Belthikamanibenta in order to ensure that seven irrigation tanks in the vicinity got filled. A sugarcane farmer of Banavaram in Arakkonam taluk said that the sugarcane farmers registered with the Padmavathi Sugar Mills in Kancheepuram district were not yet given payment for the cane supplied to it. He therefore wanted the farmers to be registered with the Vellore Cooperative Sugar Mills or Tiruttani Cooperative Sugar Mills.