Hyderabad: A top official of the Reserve Bank of India on Monday denied issuing any clearance to banks for the proposed rescheduling of farm loans in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as claimed by AP finance minister Y. Ramakrishnudu.
“Both governments had some rounds of discussions. But, still they have to come back to us with full details,” said RBI deputy governor R. Gandhi. Officials in the AP finance department were quick to dispute Dr Gandhi’s claims. “When finance department principal secretary Ajeya Kallam met RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan two days back, he had assured to approve the rescheduling of the farm loans.”
Expressing confidence about the loan restructuring, the officials said they expected an official letter from RBI on Monday itself as Dr Rajan is now back from his foreign tour. But, they hoped they would receive the official communication on Tuesday.
The state officials further questioned the authority of Dr Gandhi on farm loan issue as they claim this subject does not come under Dr Gandhi’s jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the Kotaiah Committee has recommend waiver for farm loans taken by farmers in the last kharif season.
Fix loan waiver issue soon, banks urge Andha Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) convener and general manager of State Bank of India C. Doraswamy wrote a letter to the state government, urging it to decide on the cut-off date for waiver of farm loans and also the amount to be waived. He said that banks are faced with financial problems as farmers have not yet repaid loans.
