Haryana mulls remittance of farmers' coop loans

Chandigarh, June 1 (UNI) To give relief to the farmers in distress, the Haryana government is contemplating remitting their cooperative loans on the pattern of Tamil Nadu.

Talking to reporters here, Finance Minister Birender Singh said the Hooda government had already requested the Tamil Nadu government to provide the details of remittance procedures so that it could study the feasibility of implementing the scheme in the state.

To a question, he said it was not a political decision.

Rather it had social implications in view of suicides committed by the farmers due to their inability to repay the loans.

He also called for giving an opportunity to the farmers so that they could be relieved of financial constraints and could start their life afresh.

Earlier, while speaking at the 96th State Level Bankers' Committee meeting he called upon the bankers to make drastic reduction in the interest rates and simplify the procedure for advancing loans.

He stressed the need for inclusion of other informal sectors in the list of their borrowers. He suggested that such types of norms should be evolved so that the rate of interest could not exceed more than seven per cent.

UNI MA BP RL RN1925