Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Complaints Before the Commission
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Conversion of principal as well as interest due on the existing loans;
● Grant of consumption loans;
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Not to compound interest in respect of loans converted/rescheduled etc.;
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Not to charge penal interest in respect of current dues in cases of default;
(iii) that the RBI has asked the Public Sector Banks to step up their disbursement to small and
marginal farmers and Private Sector Banks have also been urged to formulate
Special Agricultural Credit Plans from the next financial year;
(iv) that all the Public Sector Banks have been advised to reduce their lending rate for
agriculture to not more than 9% p.a. on crop loans upto a ceiling of Rs.50,000. The
Banks have also been advised to waive margin/security requirements for agricultural
loans upto Rs.50,000. NABARD has also issued guidelines on schemes for
redemption of debts of farmers from non-institutional sources;
(v)
that in order to protect the farmers from the adverse effect of natural calamities leading
to failure of crops, the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme has been in place
since Rabi 1999-2000. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has also
formulated a scheme titled Farm Income Insurance Scheme to provide income
protection to the farmers by integrating the mechanism of insuring production as well
as market risks. The scheme has been implemented during Rabi 2003-04 in 19 selected
districts of 13 States for wheat and paddy;
(vi) that the Minimum Support Price and Market Intervention Scheme are being
implemented to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers. Further drought relief
assistance is also given to the States both in the form of financial assistance and foodgrains
based on norms;
(vii) that during 2003-2004, a total quantity of 7,29,370 MTs of food grain were released to
the State free of cost for drought relief employment. Release of food grains under the
special component of ‘Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana’ was made by the Ministry
of Rural Development on the recommendations of Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation. Further a sum of Rs.298.16 crores was released to the State from
National Calamity Contingency Fund for the drought of 2003-04 which inter-alia
included assistance for Special Nutrition Programme;
4.161 In their comments, the Union Ministry of Rural Development informed the Commission
that the ‘Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana’ (SGRY) as a wage employment programme
National Human Rights Commission Annual Report - 2004-2005
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