Relief measures by banks in HR hit due to lack of notification

The relief measures by banks for farmers whose crop got damaged due to freak weather conditions were hit in Haryana with the state revenue department "failing" to notify the affected villages with more than 50 per cent damage.
In a State Level Bankers' Committee meeting here today, bankers pointed out that the revenue department had not provided a list of eligible villages or farmers in order to provide relief to affected growers in the state.
"SLBC has been receiving references from banks (in Haryana) about the details of eligible farmers/villages so that necessary relief in terms of RBI guidelines may be provided to them," said SLBC report.

"Revenue department, Haryana has been requested to make the list of affected farmers available to SLBC at the earliest for getting necessary action initiated by banks on relief measures," report said.
When bankers raised the point of relief measures during the meeting, Haryana Principal Secretary Finance P K Das asked the state revenue department official to notify the villages at the earliest where more than 50 per cent area was affected because of inclement weather conditions so as to enable bankers to restructure loans of affected growers.
"We will do the necessary notification in 2-3 days," he later said adding that recovery notices to the affected farmers had not been stopped.

He said as per Nabard guidelines, debt restructuring could only take place where 50 per cent total area of a village was affected.

With farmers in Haryana faced widespread crop damage because of inclement weather conditions, commercial banks in the state last month on the request of Haryana government had decided to provide relief to state growers by rescheduling their crop and term loans, deferring repayments, extending fresh lending and raising their consumption loan ceiling.
Rain and hailstorm during had caused massive damage to Rabi crops including 13 lakh acres of wheat area in Haryana.
After conducting special girdawari (crop loss assessment), Haryana government had announced compensation of Rs 1,092 crore for affected growers in the state.

"We have already disbursed 40 per cent of total compensation covering 70 villages in the state," said Das.