Commercial banks have drawn flak from the state government for inadequate lending to agriculture sector and recording low credit deposit (CD) ratios particularly in districts affected by left wing extremism.
Banks have managed to achieve just 66 per cent of the overall target of Rs 12,924 crore set for agriculture sector under Annual Credit Plan (ACP) for 2011-12. The actual credit grounded to the sector that supports livelihoods of more than two-third of the population stood at Rs 8,519.67 crore by the end of March 2012.
Of the total credit target of Rs 25,233.44 crore set for all priority sectors in 2011-12, banks have lent Rs 19,359.20, representing an achievement of 77 per cent. In 2010-11, banks had fared comparatively better, logging credit flow of Rs 16,611.23 crore under all priority sectors, achieving 98.26 per cent of the targeted Rs 16,903.70 crore.
“Credit to agriculture by commercial banks in the state is not growing as expected and it is only 24.17 per cent of the total advances,” Prafulla C Ghadai, state finance minister said at the 127th meeting of State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC).
Ghadai said, marginal farmers and landless peasants continue to depend largely on micro finance and indigenous money lenders who exploit the poor farmers by charging interest at exorbitant rates.
Under the agriculture sector, credit flow by banks to allied sector was disappointingly low at 28 per cent. While target under this head was Rs 1,949.36 crore, actual achievement was only Rs 546.48 crore in 2011-12.
However, crop loan disbursal at Rs 6,851.91 crore was 79 per cent of the targeted Rs 8,700.83 crore in the stated period.
On the whole, agriculture advances as a percentage of total advances by banks stood at 24.17 per cent in 2011-12, even lower than 27.92 per cent clocked in 2010-11.
