Punjab SLBC to deliberate on 'kurki' of farm land matter

The state level bankers committee (SLBC) today said all the banks will deliberate on the matter pertaining to 'kurki' (attaching) of farm land in the next meeting, a day after Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh assured farmers that there would be no such action.
However, banks apprehend adverse impact on the loan recovery from farmers if the state government takes any step to prevent auction of mortgaged land of defaulting farmers.
"This is not our money. This is public money. It will impact recovery," Punjab SLBC Convener and Punjab National Bank General Manager (Punjab), P S Chauhan, said today.
The matter pertaining to 'kurki' of farm land will be deliberated upon by all the banks in the SLBC meeting, he added.

Chauhan said the state government could omit the 'kurki' clause under Section 67A of Punjab Cooperative Societies Act 1961 as the state cooperative banks are under the jurisdiction of the state government.
Yesterday, the Punjab chief minister had urged distressed growers not to commit suicides, assuring them that the government was working on fulfilling its promise of debt waiver.

Amarinder had appealed to growers in the wake of rising number of farmers' suicides in the state.
Notably, Congress in its poll manifesto had promised to waive farm debt after coming to power. It had announced promise of 'karza-kurki khatam (eliminate loan and auction), fasal di poori rakam' (complete payment of crops).

Amarinder had earlier announced that the 'kurki' (auction) clause under Section 67A of Punjab Cooperative Societies Act 1961 would go, come what may, adding that he was committed to implementing every single promise made in the Congress election manifesto for Punjab.
At present, the total agricultural debt in Punjab is pegged at Rs 85,000 crore. Out of which total loan to farmers including marginal and small growers was Rs 72,700 crore.
The outstanding debt of small and marginal farmers was Rs 36,000 crore including Rs cooperative loan of Rs 5,000 crore, bank official said.
Meanwhile, a panel set up by Punjab government to suggest ways and means for farm debt waiver, will hold next round of meeting in June here to arrive at a figure of total quantum of agricultural debt even as farmers pitched for waiving entire debt of growers to stop farm suicides.

"We will hold a meeting in the first week of June in Chandigarh in which we will try to get a fair idea about the quantum of farm debt," said T Haque, Chairman of the expert group set up by the state government today.
Haque, a former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, said the expert group would also hold a meeting with bankers and other lenders to work out the figure of the total outstanding debt of farmers in the state.
Besides, the expert group will also meet all the stakeholders including farmers to seek their opinions before suggesting ways and means for debt waiver, he said.

Haque said it may take one more month to submit the report to the state government. The panel has so far held two meetings.
The Punjab government last month had announced to set up an expert group to assess the quantum of agricultural debt, and suggests ways and means for its waiver.
The group was asked to submit its report within 60 days.
The two other members of the Group are Pramod Kumar Joshi, Director - South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute, South Asia Regional Office and B S Dhillon, Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana.
Besides assessing the total amount of credit including institutional and non-institutional credit availed by different categories of farmers, the group will assess the quantum of bad loans or debt and suggest the methodology for remission of debt.

Meanwhile, farmers today sought from Punjab government to implement its poll promise of waiving debt in order to put a stop to farmers suicides.
"We want the government to waive entire debt of farmers. Be it from banks, cooperative banks, commission agents," said Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Khokri.
Notably, opposition parties SAD, AAP and BJP have been putting pressure on the Congress led government to honour its promise of waiving debt which it had promised before assembly polls.