Farmers, artisans to get Rs 7853 cr loans in Haryana

Chandigarh, October 12 (UNI) The Haryana State Cooperative Apex and other Cooperative Banks would provide a loan of Rs 7853 crore to farmers, artisans, petty shopkeepers and agricultural and allied services during the current financial year.

Of this, a loan of Rs 2882 crore had already been given to the beneficiareis, Agriculture Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha today.

The District Central Cooperative Banks in the state had issued a loan amounting to Rs 15057 crore to their constituents from March 2005 to July 2007 and out of these, loans amounting to Rs 11213 crore had been given as advance to the farmers in the form of crop loans.

The Minister said with a view to providing relief to the members of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS), the recovery linked incentive schemes for the members of PACS had also been implemented in the state and under the scheme interest relief amounting to Rs 156.71 crore had been provided to the 2.55 lakh members of PACS so for.

Mr Chatha maintained that District Central Cooperative Banks were advancing crop loans at the interest rate of 7 per cent to the farmers besides 2 per cent rebate in the interest was also available to the those farmers who would make repayment of loan well in time during the financial year 2007-08.

He said there were 19 District Central Cooperative Banks in the state having 360 branches and 571 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS ) which were engaged to meet the credit requirements of 28.38 lakh members who were residing in the rural areas.

Mr Chatha said the cooperative banks were also providing loans to meet out the credit requirement of rural artisans, petty shopkeepers, agricultural labourers, non-farm finance and cooperative sugarmills.

UNI