National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Thursday assured the Punjab Government of soon releasing the limit of Rs 4,000 crore for providing crop loans to the farmers by the Punjab State Cooperative Bank.
Besides, the NABARD has also assured to reconsider the issue of increasing the limit during the months of November-December.
The assurance was given to the state Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa who met NABARD chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala at Mumbai on Thursday and emphatically took up the issues of releasing immediately the limit of crop loans, increasing the limit for the next season besides placing other demands concerning the welfare of state’s farming community.
NABARD chairman, on his part, gave an assurance regarding sanctioning limit amount of Rs 4,000 crore and getting it released to the Punjab State Cooperative Bank without delay for the purpose of providing crop loans to the farmers, along with an assured to reconsider the issue of increasing the limit during November-December.
Also exchanging views on significant issues of state’s cooperative banks with NABARD, Randhawa took up the issues of prompt release of refinance limit being provided to the state’s cooperative banks for the purpose of agricultural loans by NABARD. He said that the limit is usually released during June by NABARD, but it hasn’t been released this year till now.
He vigorously placed this demand on which the NABARD chairman gave an assurance pertaining to its immediate release.
The Minister also raised the issue of financial assistance given to the Milkfed out of the DIDF fund and demanded the removal of a condition about the State Government being standing as a guarantee.
On this aspect, the NABARD chairman agreed to accept the demands on the spot itself and issued a revised sanction letter after the meeting.
With this, the sanction was given to the renovation project worth Rs 318 crore of the milk plants at ludhiana, Mohali, Jalandhar, and Patiala. Earlier, the project was stalled due to the condition of the state government being made to stand as a guarantee.
NABARD chairman also added that the Bank is providing loans on easy interest rates for the purpose of giving fillip to the dairy farming, horticulture and drip irrigation system. The farmers from Punjab must be exhorted to avail this loan through cooperative banks, he said.