It may be a topic of study for some to know whether the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPT) and Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) have proved a saviour for the tribal populace of Jharkhand or a hindrance in their economic growth in the present context, but for most of the others, the duo is a cause for concern.
A more worried lot are bankers of Jharkhand, who agreed to form a special committee to look into the details of the Act and release of bank loans to tribal people.
The State level Bankers’ Committee (SlBC), the highest banking body of the State, in its 43rd meeting decided to form a sub-committee that would study the SPT and CNT Acts and give its suggestions.
The sub-committee besides senior officials of banks would also comprise members from NABARD, Reserve Bank of India and some Government officers.
Bankers in the State have been expressing concerns about lower loan disbursal to tribals in the want of clicking mortgage such as land or immovable assets as the Act prevents a non-tribal from purchasing or acquiring land belonging to a tribal. “A sub-committee can look into the details in better manner and suggest ways. This is considered as hurdle and we have been repeatedly requesting the Government for modifications,” said VR Iyer, Chairperson cum Managing Director of Bank of India, the convener bank of SlBC.
Growing certificate cases is Jharkhand has been a worry for the banker that is hampering recovery of the lending. All banks of the State have accumulated 104405 pending cases on previous quarters amounting Rs29327 lakhs.
The bankers were also worried about bank loans turning bad in great numbers in Jharkhand and contribution of the Acts is also sizable into this.
March 2013 figures suggest Rs57473 lakh as non-performing asset in agriculture sector, Rs119231 lakh in MSE and Rs31841 lakh for other priority sectors. It takes the figure to Rs276688 crore in the State. NPA in Jharkhand is as high as 5.96 per cent of the lending.
While answering to the concerns, Development Commissioner AK Sarkar told the banks to come with specifics about number of cases pending due to the Acts and also exact amount stuck with the tribals. Another official of Institutional Finance though also referred to a committee formed under the Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) to look into similar matters. “The TAC sub-committee has come up with its findings that have counted on specific issues involved in dealing with the Acts and its implications on the affected people,” he said.