In letter to Piyush Goyal, Devendra Fadnavis asks Centre to direct all Maharashtra banks to fast-track crop loan disbursal

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday wrote a letter to the Centre, demanding that all banks in the state be directed to expedite the process of disbursing crop loans to farmers. [caption id=“attachment_4580961” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Reuters[/caption] In the letter to finance minister Piyush Goyal, he said that it is the peak time for kharif crops and the Centre is required to intervene and help farmers. “All guardian ministers have been instructed to keep a watch on the process of distribution of crop loans. However, the response from nationalised and private banks is not as expected. Banks are distributing loans at a slow pace despite the arrival of rains,” Fadnavis stated in the letter. The state government has taken serious cognisance of this and that the Centre, too, is required to intervene at the opportune time, the chief minister said. “The state government has implemented the historic loan waiver scheme, due to which, a large number of farmers have become eligible for fresh loans,” he stated. Since the sowing season has started, farmers are in need of crop loans. Thus, banks should be directed to disburse most of the loans by June-end, Fadnavis added.