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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Give details of bribery in loan waiver scheme, banks told

Give details of bribery in loan waiver scheme, banks told

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published Published on Sep 14, 2010   modified Modified on Sep 14, 2010


THE government has directed public sector banks to provide data on corruption charges against bank officials involved in the agricultural loan waiver scheme after complaints that many of them took bribes for processing applications.

The finance ministry wants to put such cases on fast track as the performance audit of the scheme has already been initiated by the comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG), the government’s statutory auditor. The Rs 65,000-crore agriculture debt waiver and debt relief scheme is expected to benefit 3,68,00,000 farmers.

“Nabard is investigating these complaints and one bank official has been suspended so far,” a finance ministry official said, adding that no complaints have been received by the RBI so far.

RBI and Nabard are the nodal agencies for implementation of the waiver scheme. So far, 10 complaints have been filed, of which five were found to be baseless, said the official who asked not to be named.

Bankers say such cases are rare and most farmers have already been provided with the benefit. Public sector banks had to offer an additional rebate of up to 25% to improve recovery of their farm loans.

“In some cases, bank officials came under pressure from local politicians to provide the benefits to big farmers, who were not eligible,” said a senior official with Punjab National Bank. This view was echoed by officials of other public sector banks who said they received complaints from their staff on undue harassment.

The scheme was among the pet schemes of the UPA government in its first tenure. It was announced in 2008 after a spate of farmer suicides across the country created a huge outcry. Small and marginal farmers holding land up to two hectares were entitled for complete waiver of loans, while farmers holding more land than were eligible for a one-time settlement relief of 25%.

“We have already forwarded the complaints to head offices of banks, who have been directed to take action within 30 working days,” the finance ministry official said. Banks have to appoint a grievance redressal officer in each state as the final authority of such cases.

The farm credit target for banks this fiscal is Rs 3,25,000 crore, of which Rs 1,85,000 crore will be short-term credit. In 2009-10, around 482 lakh farmers have been financed with a total disbursement of Rs 3,66,919 crore, according to finance ministry data.


The Economic Times, 14 September, 2010, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/Give-details-of-bribery-in-loan-waiver-scheme-banks-told/articleshow/6550444.cms


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