Bankers in a fix over non-repayment of loans

GUNTUR: The bankers in Guntur district are facing a tough time with mounting pressure from the government for sanction of loans to farmers.However, banks are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea with recovery of crop loans being hardly 45 per cent and the rate of default has increased after introduction of the debt waiver scheme.Even financing under the Rythu Mitra Group and Joint Liability Group schemes have not proved to be a success, with dues of around 95 per cent in the district.In 2011-12, banks sanctioned Rs. 1,400 crore of crop loans including Rs.  500 crore gold loan.However, the recovery was only Rs.  400 crore and overdues stand at around Rs.  500 crore.Farmers who have suffered crop damages for the past three seasons due to cyclones and floods and hence the ryots are not in a position to clear existing crop loans. The prevailing situation has forced many farmers to become defaulters because of the adverse seasonal conditions.Similarly, under the RMG scheme, Rs.  45 crore was sanctioned to 2,250 groups.However, the amount recovered is only Rs.  20 crore. Rs.  12 crore was sanctioned to 1,780 JLG groups but the recovery was only of Rs.  4 crore, said lead bank district manager M Rami Reddy. Thus, bankers are in a fix over their future course of action as they face severe non-performing assets problem until the loans are repaid.