Benefit of agricultural loan waiver
On Monday, A division bench of the Gujarat high court issued notices to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Union government and the State Bank of India (SBI) in the matter of giving some farmers the benefit of agricultural loan waiver. As the local SBI branch had issued them notices for payment of their loan with interest, a group of farmers from Sabarkantha district had approached the high court.
The bank was charging them high interest despite the fact that they were eligible for the loan waiver under a scheme for farmers introduced by the Centre in 2008, the farmers had alleged in their petition. The petitioner farmers had taken agricultural loan from 2004-2007. The farmers were given agricultural crop loan and term-loan by the SBI, Amit P Patel, a Counsel for the farmers told the division bench comprising justice JB Pardiwala and chief justice SJ Mukhopadhaya.
Patel said they had been paying interest and installment amount to the bank regularly. The benefit of loan waiver for agriculturists in the matter of repayment of loans had been introduced by the central government in 2008, the lawyer further said. The farmers were under the bona fide impression that they will get the benefit of loan waiver under the said scheme.