Question : FARMERS SUICIDE DUE TO INDEBTEDNESS

(a) whether the information regarding the debt burden of the farmers committing suicide alongwith the interest paid by them is not mentioned by the Government;

(b) if so, the reasons therefor;

(c) the total amount of agriculture loan outstanding against the farmers alongwith the amount out of the above taken for tractors;

(d) the amount of outstanding loan of farmers waive by various banks under the loan waiver scheme;

(e) the extra amount paid to the farmers who committed suicide alongwith the amount spent on waiver of their loan amount;

(f) whether the amount borrowed by such farmers from the money lenders has been repaid; and

(g) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI HARISH RAWAT)

(a) & (b): Such information is not available because these are not maintained by the existing information collection system of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and financial institutions.

(c): As reported by NABARD, the total amount of agriculture loan outstanding against the farmers including loan outstanding against the farmers including loan for tractors was Rs.567,476 crore as on 31.03.2011. Further, NABARD has informed that the information for tractor loan is not maintained separately by them.

(d): The Govt. of India has so far released Rs.51,340.37 crore to the nodal agencies i.e. Reserve Bank of India and NABARD for reimbursement to the banks and cooperative credit institutions for the amount of loan waived by them under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS), 2008.

(e): The loan amount waived to the eligible farmers including the farmers who committed suicide has been as per the guidelines in respect of Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008.

(f) & (g): The farm credit package announced by the Government on 18.6.2004 includes relief measures for farmers indebted to non-institutional lenders. In order to mitigate the distress that farmers might be facing due to the heavy burden of debt from non-institutional lenders including moneylenders, redemption/wap of such loans by banks has been permitted, subject to the guidelines approved by their Board of Directors.