Times of India reports Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has instructed district officials to start criminal proceedings against employees of financial institutions that have not given loans to farmers. The banks’ attitude towards farmers has left the chief minister feeling angry.
Fadnavis reviewed the agrarian crisis and progress of irrigation projects in north Maharashtra in Dhule along with water resources minister Girish Mahajan. He called upon the heads of leading banks to resolve the dispute. Not only district central cooperative banks, but even commercial and nationalized banks too should step in to resolve the agrarian crisis, Fadnavis said.
According to reports, a criminal case has been registered in Akola district after a branch manager of a nationalized bank refused a loan to a farmer on “flimsy grounds”.
The state government will have to adopt a two-pronged strategy to tackle the agrarian crisis: waiving the outstanding loans and asking all financial institutions to provide credit to farmers in crisis, said a BJP ‘ leader.