The state government has expressed discontent over poor lending to various sectors by banks, especially to the agriculture and allied sectors in 2011-12, even as the current financial year is drawing to a close in a week.
However, Andhra Bank CMD and State-Level Ban-kers' Committee (SLBC) president B.A. Prabhakar explained that the delay was due to mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) in agriculture sector that stand at 5.69 per cent, while the total arrears constitute 17.08 per cent. Mr Prabhakar informed that farmers in some villages have stopped repayment of loans hoping for another ‘debt waiver sch-eme’ in the run up to the general elections in 2014.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who inaugurated the SLBC meet at Jubilee Hall here on Saturday, lamented that the banks could not achieve lending targets. Finance minister Anam Ramanarayan Reddy too found fault with the banks over poor lending to SCs, STs, BCs and other weaker sections for setting up mi-cro and small enterprises.
“We have issued loan eligibility cards to 5.76 lakh tenant farmers but only 1.93 lakh of them have been extended credit by banks. Loans under kisan credit cards were extended to only 71 per cent of the farmers,” he said. Mr Prabhakar clarified that unless the government puts land records online and issues error-free pattadar pass books, it would be difficult for the banks to disburse the loans quickly. The minister pointed out that the banks have achieved a target of only 66 per cent with regard to credit linkage for women SHGs.