Maharashtra government has approved a bank guarantee of Rs 2,000 crore to district cooperative banks to sanction additional loans to farmers, contending they would need more money in the upcoming sowing season of kharif crops, reports PTI.
Chandrakant Patil, Minister for Cooperation, said Marathwada Rural Bank and 16 other cooperative banks had demanded additional Rs 2,000 crore for distribution as crop loans among farmers.
“Due to restructuring of loans since the last three years (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16), and drought situation, farmers could not repay installments of loans that forced cooperative banks to seek additional monetary help from the Government,” said Patil.
These banks are predominantly in Vidarbha, Marathwada, and North Maharashtra. The Minister said he has asked cooperative banks not to recover pending loan amount from farmers’ crop insurance payments deposited in their bank accounts.
