Co-operative Bank staff plea to TN Govt

Chennai, Jun 26 : The Tamil Nadu Co-operative Bank Employees' Association today urged the state government to inject the banks immediately with Rs 6,866 crore representing the waiver of farm dues by agriculturists as on March 31 this year.

Association General Secretary P Balakrishnan told newsmen here that a resolution to this effect was adopted at the association's executive held at Madurai recently.

It requested the government to consider the demand on an emergent basis for enabling the banks to re-emerge as successful credit institutions.

He recalled Chief Minister M Karaunidhi's announcement of waiver of the farm loans after he assumed office on May 13 which gave sufficient relief to farmers affected by drought.

'This is definitely a welcome relief provided for farmers.

However, it is very much necessary the amount waived be replenished immediately to the banks without further delay,'' he added.

Mr Balakrishnan cautioned the banks would meet several adverse situations if the amount was not replenished.

Currently, 1150 of the 4445 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Banks had turned non-viable due to ban on recovery during the last three years.

If the amount not reimbursed, it will have adverse impact on these banks even foreign their closure.

The cooperative banks on the whole have met 77 per cent of the farm advances from their own resources with NABARD providing only the balane 23 per cent by way of refinance towards crop loans.

In this scenario, if the Tamil Nadu Government did nor replenish the amount in full or in part, the banks may not be able to honour the demands of the depositors, he warned.

Mr Balakrishnan also said if the funds to be given by the government carried any interest rate, the banks will be under pressure to revise the rate of advances to their cutomers besides hiking the administrative costs. The 2006-07 Union Budget announced an interest subsidy of two per cent for crop loans provided at seven per cent by commercial, regional rural and cooperative banks.

The NABARD had given an assurance for providing refinance to state cooperative banks at 2.5 per cent from 5.5 per cent for 2006-07. To help NABARD, the Centre had enhanced the refinancing support by from Rs 8000 crore to Rs 14000 crore.

This would enable the NABARD to provide a maximum refinance facility to state cooperative banks upto 40 of the short term credit disbursements.

Unless the banks were getting up to 80 per cent refinance, it would be impossible for them to extend farm credit at seven per cent.

Besides, to enable the cooperative banks to provide farm credit at not more than seven per cent, the Tamil Nadu Government should provide interest subsidy at three per cent per annum and come out with a credit policy in this respect at an early date apart from prevailing upon the Centre to give 80 per cent refinance to state cooperative banks,he added

UNI