Wayanad landslides: Special loan for livelihood sector of farmers; one-year moratorium on loans

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A decision was taken in the meeting of the state-level bankers committee held yesterday to cooperate with the practical approach for the reconstruction work in Wayanad which was hit by a landslide disaster. Banks will decide about writing off loans after accessing the information about those who have died in the disaster, those who have completely lost their property, etc. Accordingly, a one-year moratorium will be given to loans, including agricultural loans. Further, it will be converted into new loans with a repayment period of five years, after adding interest and arrears.

Financial assistance will be provided after careful assessment of each livelihood sector. Special loans will be given to those who have lost their agricultural land and income and those who have lost their agricultural land. The interest and repayment period including the terms of the loan will be determined as per the norms issued by the Reserve Bank under the Natural Disaster Act. Everything will have discounts.

3220 people have taken loans in disaster areas. Their total loan amount is 35.32 crores. Out of this, 2460 people have loans worth Rs 19.81 crore and they are agricultural loans. 245 people who are traders or small entrepreneurs have taken loans of 3.4 crores. 12 crore loans are education loans and housing loans.

In the case of education loans, re-examination will be conducted in cases where the house and family have been lost in the calamity, or the borrower has died in a calamity. In other cases, if necessary, the period will be extended. A moratorium will also be allowed if necessary.

Loans to restart farms

• If those who started agriculture-related projects like poultry and pig farms lost them, they will be given a one-year loan to restart them.
• Agricultural insurance holders will be given necessary assistance to obtain it
• Home loan holders will be provided with necessary assistance to avoid liability by obtaining loan insurance. If their house is damaged, a new loan of five lakhs will be given.
• Loan assistance and moratorium benefits will be provided to small and medium enterprises and traders to improve their business.

Consumption loan without collateral

All those whose lives are in crisis in the disaster-affected areas will be given consumption loans of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 at low interest for a period of two and a half years. These loans will be provided without collateral.