Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today announced freezing the repayment of loans taken by farmers from the primary agricultural cooperative societies. The state cooperatives lend crores per crop to the farmers of Punjab as short-term crop loans through the primary agricultural cooperative societies.
The chief minister’s decision comes in the wake of the losses suffered by the farmers due to the recent rains and hailstorms.
Mann said he hopes this will bring much-needed relief to the farmers in this hour of crisis. The farmers can pay back this amount later after they recover from the losses, he added.
The freeze will be a boon to the farmers of the state as it would give them more time to repay their loans and avoid the imposition of penal interest, which would have been levied on farmers for any delay in payment, Mann said.
This is an important concession to the farmers and this extension will prevent a large number of farmers from becoming defaulters, he said, adding, these farmers will remain eligible to get loans for the next crop.
