No Waiver of Agri Loans

BANGALORE: The Karnataka State Cooperative Apex Bank on Monday announced that there will be no more waiver of either loans or interest on agricultural loans.Speaking to media persons here on Monday, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank Aswathnarayana Gowda said that the farmers who availed themselves of the loans have to repay by the end of September. “Earlier, the deadline was June 30. However, the government has extended it to September 30,”Gowda said.Advising the farmers to avail the agriculture loans at one per cent interest, he said that those who fail to repay dues would not be eligible to avail loans at one per cent interest. “We have lent loans amounting to `500 crore with an interest rate of 3 to 4 per cent and they are yet to be recovered. However, some farmers have already started repaying the loans,” Gowda said.The bank has succeeded in collecting deposits worth `4,646.67 crore, working capital `7,291.48 crore, investments `2,747.31 crore and advanced loans worth of `4,062.84 crore. “The bank has registered a profit of `45.59 crore during 2010-11,” Gowda said.Stating that the bank is the first in the country to provide loans for agriculture purpose at one per cent interest, Gowda said the bank has already disbursed loans amounting to `2,738 crore to 8 lakh farmers between April 1 and August 31. “Our target is to disburse `5,700 crore to 18 lakh farmers this year,” he said.The bank has set a target of increasing deposits to `5,273.83 crore and working capital to `8,387 crore during 2011-12. The bank intends to open branches at Gulbarga, Belgaum and Mysore in the near future.