Funds shortage, by-elections and mismatch of the names across official records have delayed crop loan waivers for over 7,400 growers in Karnataka’s Kodagu district.

One of the major reasons for the growers’ agonising wait for the loan waiver — slated to have been completed by April/May — is the mismatch of names across their RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crop information), Aadhaar and ration cards, said officials and affected growers BusinessLine spoke to.

PM Suresh, a 43-year-old grower and father of two from Kedamullur village in Kodagu’s Virajpet taluk, who grows coffee and pepper on 1.88 acres, is a disappointed man. “Heavy rains and flooding for two years in a row have destroyed nearly 50 per cent of my crops,” he said. “I have already repaid ₹10,000 of the ₹1,20,000 loan that I availed from the Kedamullur Cooperative Credit Society. In addition to my SBI account number, which I had submitted to receive the waiver, I was also asked to submit my RuPay card details, which I have done. However, I am yet to get the waiver.”

Similarly TT Harish, a 48-year-old farmer who grows paddy on 1 acre, is yet to receive a waiver for the ₹12,000 loan that he had taken from the Kakotuparambu Cooperative Credit Society. Harish also grows coffee on 3 acres, but since the RTC for that continues to be in his father’s name, he is not eligible for a loan for the same.

‘Initial’ woes

The Executive Officer of Kedamullur Cooperative Society told BusinessLine that 111 farmers are yet to receive loan waivers. “The software is unable to verify farmers’ names because in many cases they have recorded their father’s name and family name in full, along with their names, in their RTC; but only the initials of the father’s name and family name appear in the Aadhaar card. This causes a mismatch,” he said. “The Bhoomi Cell in Bengaluru must sort out this issue. In some cases, husband and wife with two separate ration cards have availed loans whereas only ₹1 lakh per family is allowed.”

Earlier, growers were just required to submit their RTC documents to receive the loan waiver. Now, they are required to submit Aadhaar details as well. “We have given our full names in the Aadhaar card, just as it is in the RTC. However, it has been shortened by officials to fit into the given space, which is not our fault,” said one of the growers.

HK Patil, senior Congress leader and MLA, said that of the ₹43,000-crore loan waiver announced by the State government, ₹23,600 crore was released as on May 31. “Since the amount is huge, it is being released in instalments. While the loan waiver beneficiaries are genuine, the co-operatives are not going to the government for recovery of the remaining amount,” he said.

“Of the 32,903 farmers who had outstanding loans as on July 10, 2018, nearly 80 per cent (25,457 farmers) have already received loans waivers amounting to ₹196.61 crore,” said Kodandera P Ganapathy, President of Kodagu DCC Bank Ltd, Madikeri. “At present, 7,446 farmers are awaiting a waiver of ₹58 crore. Barring around 1,500 of these farmers, I expect all the rest to receive the waiver by March.”