Cooperative Loan Rule Changes Hit Punjab Farmers, BJP Alleges
Jalandhar: Sunil Jakhar, former state president of the BJP in Punjab, has charged the Bhagwant Mann government with loading farmers with heavy financial pressure through revised cooperative bank loan regulations.
In a press interaction in Jalandhar, Jakhar pointed to a recent farmer protest in Chandigarh over crop loans and other agricultural demands. He said the state agriculture minister had given written assurance on September 7 that steps would be taken in the Assembly to introduce a one-time settlement scheme for cooperative bank agricultural loans. He noted that the most recent Assembly session has passed, yet the scheme has not been introduced.
Jakhar also referred to the chief minister's June announcement on raising the Kisan Credit Card loan ceiling and offering loans for various other crops. He contended that these promises had not translated into action, as no new farmer accounts had been opened in cooperative banks and loan limits remained unchanged.
He further said that 11 district land mortgage banks had been shut for five months, and farmers and employees were holding protests outside these institutions.
Jakhar described the changes in cooperative loan rules as an even greater wrong. According to him, the new norms not only add to the economic burden on farmers but also make the borrowing process so arduous that farmers may effectively be shut out of credit.
He elaborated that farmers borrowing through cooperative societies earlier paid Rs 3,300 for a loan of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5,000 for Rs 2 lakh as their share. The government has now raised these amounts to Rs 6,000 and Rs 9,000 respectively, which must be deposited before the loan is granted.
According to Jakhar, the share was previously kept with the cooperative society and could be reclaimed without difficulty when an account was closed. Under the new orders, the amount must be deposited in the bank, from where retrieving it would be a challenge for farmers.
He also alleged that farmers were not required to mortgage land for cooperative loans earlier, but the new rules now require land to be pledged. The four per cent interest relief previously available to farmers with Kisan Credit Cards from other banks has also been withdrawn, he added, meaning farmers would face higher upfront costs and more expensive loans despite offering their land as security.
Jakhar said the government had not left adequate funds with banks, which is why they lacked the money to lend to farmers. He held the chief minister accountable, since the cooperation department is under his control.
He pointed out that farmers need funds for wheat sowing and for buying seeds, fertilisers and diesel. Meanwhile, they are being exploited in mandis and face deductions during paddy procurement, while cooperative banks are not extending the loans required for the next crop cycle.
Jakhar asserted that Punjab's people were deeply dissatisfied with the anti-farmer Mann government, which, he said, was busy with the song Chhalla instead of addressing farmers' hardships.
He also highlighted the Centre's PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, saying Rs 18,500 crore had recently been sent as a new instalment to the accounts of 9.34 crore farmers. Under this scheme, he said, the Modi government had given farmers a total of Rs 4.6 lakh crore so far.