Belagavi DC tells bank not to harass farmers

Deputy Commissioner S B Bommanahalli on Wednesday directed Axis Bank officials not to take any measures for the recovery of the dues from farmers who are eligible for the loan waiver scheme announced by the state government.

At a reconciliatory meeting held here, he also directed the bank not to harass the farmers who have borrowed loan for farm activities from the bank and come out with a one-time settlement scheme for 180 farmers who have taken the loan.

The meeting had been convened following a direction from the state government.

The deputy commissioner took the bank officials to task for not following guidelines before moving the court against the farmers.

The bank officials said Kolkata zone has been identified as the jurisdiction for legal processes for all loan- related grievances, including farm loan, since the bank has adopted core banking.The bank has no intention to create problems for or harass the farmers, they
claimed.

The deputy commissioner also sought details of the loan lent to the farmers and the interest rate and told them to stop the forceful recovery of farm loan.