Punjab: Contrary to RBI, SBI publicly shames loan defaulter farmers
About 1.5 months ago, Punjab announced loan waivers worth Rs. 24,000cr for its small and marginal farmers, but not much seems to have changed. They are as helpless as ever. To add to their misery, an SBI branch in Ludhiana's Samrala has publicly named defaulters and pasted their pictures on boards. This, despite the RBI refusing SC directions to make loan defaulters' lists public.
'What choice do farmers have but to kill themselves?'
One among the affected is Gurdeep Singh. He had taken a loan of Rs. 1,50,000, so when the government's waiver announcement came, he was relieved. However, nothing's been done yet. SBI's new name-and-shame policy has reportedly affected 3,000 farmers near Samrala. Contrasting the situation with defaulters like Vijay Mallya, farmer Hardeep Singh asked, "What choice do farmers have but to take their own lives?"
What SBI is doing is illegal, says Bharatiya Kisan Union
Bank officials didn't comment on the matter except saying that orders had come from above. However, according to Balbir Singh Rajewal, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union, such action is illegal. "If any farmer comes forward we are ready to file a lawsuit against the bank."
Meanwhile, farmers' suicides on the rise in Punjab
The northern state has seen an alarming rise in farmer suicides over the years, especially in seven districts. A survey by the Punjabi University (Patiala) reported 1,309 farm suicides in Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar and Shri Muktsar Sahib during April 2010-December 2016. This was over three times that of the 2000-2011 figure of 365. The most common reason was indebtedness.
