Punjab govt notifies Divisional Agriculture Debt Settlement Forums

The Punjab government has notified the Divisional Agriculture Debt Settlement Forums as a step towards streamlining the process of money lending to farmers.

To be headed by divisional commissioners, the forums will carry out the purposes of The Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness (Amendment) Act, 2018 within the territorial jurisdiction of such divisions, an official release said here on Sunday.

"The amended law addresses the infirmities and technical flaws in The Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness Act, 2016.

"The old legislation was highly detrimental to the interests of the farmers, necessitating the amendments. The new law will go a long way in mitigating the hardships faced by the farmers on account of money lending," it said.

With the issuance of this notification, the divisional commissioners have been appointed as chairmen, while two representatives, one each from the revenue and the agriculture departments, will be nominated as ex-officio members by way of another notification in due course.

The Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was passed in the last Punjab Vidhan Sabha session in August, thus setting in motion the process of installing the mechanism to streamline the system of money lending to farmers.

It will fix a limit on the advance on per acre of land, with the rate of interest also to be determined by the government.