Farmers’ loan waiver scheme extended till March next year

The Haryana Government has extended the One-Time Loan Waiver Scheme (OTS Scheme 2022) for overdue borrower-members of the Haryana State Cooperative Agriculture and Land Development Bank (Land Mortgage Bank) until March 31, 2026.

This information was shared by the bank’s Chairman, Amar Pal Rana, during a meeting of the all district-level Chief Executive Officers and Managers held at the bank’s headquarters.

He informed that under this scheme, overdue interest on the loan accounts of deceased borrowers of the District Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks would be waived in full. If legal heir/heirs of a deceased borrower deposit the entire principal outstanding amount, they would receive 100 per cent waiver of overdue interest, along with waiver of penal interest and other charges, he said.

The bank currently has 17,229 deceased and widow borrower accounts, with dues amounting to Rs 190.70 crore in principal, Rs 246.77 crore in interest and Rs 41.68 crore in penal interest, totalling Rs 479.14 crore.

“In addition, under the OTS Scheme 2022, all other overdue borrowers will be eligible for 50 per cent waiver of interest, while penal interest and additional charges will also be waived. The scheme will apply to all categories of loans issued by the bank,” Rana said.

“As per the scheme, any borrower who, for whatever reason, could not repay his/her loan and was declared a defaulter by the bank on March 31, 2022, may avail benefits of this settlement,” he said.

It is noteworthy that the 19 District Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks together have 61,767 borrowers, with total outstanding dues of Rs 1,857.92 crore (Rs 723.55 crore principal, Rs 1,002.91 crore interest and Rs 131.47 crore penal interest). The government extended the OTS Scheme once again to facilitate repayment by these borrowers.

Rana said, “The scheme has been extended for a limited period. The beneficiaries should avail its benefits on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. For availing the scheme and obtaining further information, borrowers may contact any of the 19 District Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks or the 70 branches established at the tehsil level.”

The meeting was attended by the bank’s Managing Director, Naresh Goyal, along with all senior officials.