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With banks and financial institutions shying away from lending to tenant farmers, the Andhra Pradesh Government has begun a drive to identify eligible farmers and share the list with banks in the vicinity. To begin with, it plans to issue a four-page loan eligibility card to about 5.55 lakh ‘Licensed Cultivators' in the next few days. The banks will not seek any security or guarantee for loans up to Rs 50,000.
With five high security features (such as watermarks which can be seen only under ultra violet light), these cards would be valid for one year and would assign no right on land to tenant farmers. “After one year, they will have to renew it or get a new one,” Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, Minister for Revenue, said.
No reasonto worry
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he asserted that land owners would have no reason to worry.
“The ordinance has made it clear that it is an arrangement to facilitate banks to give loans to tenant farmers. Interests of land owners will be protected,” he said.
Apart from making them eligible for loans, these cards would help tenant farmers get access to input subsidies and insurance claims which generally go to landowners.
But the Opposition parties have a different view point on this. They have argued that the ordinance did more harm than help, as it created a fear psychosis among land owners that the Government was bestowing some rights on land to farmers by giving eligibility cards. As a result, they were not willing to give land on rent in some instances.
Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Chief Minister, gave away the first of these cards to about 66,000 farmers in East Godavari district on Sunday. “We will cover the remaining districts by July 16, 2011,” he said.
Admitting that the number was very small, the Minister said the Government would begin the enrolment drive during April-May to cover the maximum number of tenant farmers.
The Government, however, would take no responsibility in recoveries. “It is the responsibility of banks and farmers,” he said.
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