Banks in Orissa urged not to insist recovery in flood-hit areas

Bhubaneswar, Jul 20 (UNI) Orissa Finance Minister P.C.Ghadei today urged the regional heads of the Banks operating in the state not to insist upon the recovery of agriculture loan in the flood-affected areas of the state.

Presiding over the 10th State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting here, Mr Ghadei said there was necessity of huge relief and rehabilitation operation and also liberal extension of production and investment credit by the Banks in the flood-affected areas to restore the ravaged economy of the state.

The Finance Minister said as many as 1858 villages in 12 districts of the state had been ravaged by the recent flood, adding as per the latest estimation 1.3 crore people were affected and crops over 1,20,761 hectare damaged in the flood.

He urged the Regional Heads of the Banks, the Regional Director of the Reserve Bank of India and the Chief General Manager of the NABARD to rise up to the occasion and extend liberal production and investment expeditiously in the flood-affected areas.

The Finance Minister also requested the Banks not to insist upon the recovery of agriculture loans already extended till the next cropping season and announced that the Rastriya Krushi Bima Yojana would be implemented in the state from the next Khariff season.

It was revealed in the meeting that the total credit disbursement by the Banks under the Annual Action Plan-2006-2007 for the state stood at Rs 6739.75 crore as against the target of Rs 6145.66 crore, registering an achievement of 110 per cent, while the total agricultural loan in the state as on March 2007 was 8858.56 crore as against Rs 6536.78 crore on March 2006.

The Banks had also been able to achieve 89 per cent of physical target as on March 2007 by providing credit linkages to 90,947 women Self-Help groups amounting to Rs 382.94 crore during April 2006 to March 2007.

UNI