Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has begun crediting its share of Rs 7.92 per kilogram to the bank accounts of farmers as the price of paddy procured from them. The government's move is intended to mollify the farmers who are agitated over the nonpayment of dues.
However, the government will disburse the Centre’s share of Rs 20.40 per kg as Paddy Receipt Sheet (PRS) loans by obtaining the amount from a consortium of banks after Onam. The consortium of banks has indicated it would extend Rs 220 crore as loan after Onam.
Although the Cabinet had decided to pay the entire amount due to the farmers for the paddy procured, the government was forced to make partial payment in view of the financial crisis.
The government's decision is to pay the smaller portion of the arrears now and to disburse the rest of it as PRS loans.
Full payment has already been made to farmers for paddy procured for up to Rs 50,000. The State’s share of the paddy price is being credited to the accounts of those farmers who are due to be paid amounts exceeding this.
What is PRS loan
PRS loans are money given to farmers on the basis of the Paddy Receipt Sheet (PRS) issued by Supplyco which procures the grain.
Bank consortium reviews old stand
The bank consortium gave the green signal for sanctioning the loan after the government, which was reluctant to grant funds to Supplyco, changed its stance. The consortium had put forward a proposal that if the money reaches Supplyco’s bank account and transactions take place, it would extend a loan proportionate to that amount as PRS loan for paddy procurement.
The State government has allotted Rs 180 crore in two installments for procurement of paddy till now. Of this, Rs 72 crore was transferred from the treasury directly to the bank accounts of farmers by the Finance Department.
After the stand of the consortium became known, the government transferred the remaining amount of Rs 180 crore to Supplyco. Following this, the government also sanctioned Rs 70 crore to the agency for market intervention and paid another tranche of Rs 70 crore for the same purpose during the Onam season, totalling Rs 140 crore. An amount of Rs 32.27 crore that was sanctioned by the government for the disbursal of provision kits for Onam also reached Supplyco’s account.
The bank consortium agreed to sanction the loan after a total of over Rs 280 crore reached Supplyco’s account.
