‘12 lakh J&K farmers to be covered under Kisan Credit Card scheme’

Srinagar, Aug 2: Banks operating in Jammu and Kashmir need to work in tandem with Agriculture and Horticulture departments to achieve the targets set in various Credit Linked Schemes (CLS) of Agriculture Production Department (APD).

This was stated by Principal Secretary, APD, Shailendra Kumar while chairing the meeting to assess the performance of Banks operating in J&K regarding implementation of credit linked schemes of APD.

The meeting was attended by HODs of various departments, representatives from various banks and senior officials from line departments.

Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Secretary stressed upon the participants to develop synergy for effective implementation of the credit related schemes of APD to ensure that all the eligible farmers across the UT are benefited. “When we develop agricultural infrastructure in the UT or anywhere else, we are directly contributing to nation-building. Agriculture forms the fulcrum of our economy which makes it very important for the line departments and banks to formulate a joint mechanism for implementation of credit-linked schemes related to agriculture production,” Shailendra Kumar said.

He highlighted that need of hour is to ensure that all 12 lakh eligible farmers in the UT are covered under Kisan Credit Card Scheme through joint efforts of all stakeholders.

Pitching for a simple and hassle-free system, the Principal Secretary said that from applying to sanctioning and subsequent disbursement, process has to be simple. He added that rejections need to be minimized and hand-holding of aspiring borrowers need to be done so that benefits of all the schemes like Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFMPE), Agri Infrastructure Fund, High Density Plantation Scheme, among others rach to the eligible farmers.

He impressed upon Banks and line departments for disposal of pendency on urgent basis besides calling for viable and quality Detailed Projects Reports (DPRs) by availing services of technically qualified resources. He also directed the line departments to ensure that pending mutations don’t act as hindrance to processing of loan facilities.

On the occasion, the bank representatives and line departments assured the Principal Secretary that all the directions will be complied with besides putting in more and more efforts towards achieving the targets.