The State Focus Report of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for 2016-17, released last week, allocated 51.3 per cent (of Rs 2,96,279.44 crore) of its total potential-linked credit plan (PLP) to Mumbai City and Suburbs.

Dr US Saha, Chief General Manager, NABARD-Maharashtra, explained that the projections are not only for crop loans, but include total priority-sector lending. Dr Saha accepted that NABARD’s primary focus should always remain on agriculture and agreed that Mumbai does not have agriculture. but the city does, he says, have “a number of MSMEs [Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises], food and agro-processing units, housing and social infrastructure projects. If you exclude Mumbai’s projections from total estimated credit plan, the amount planned for areas affected by agrarian distress will be seen to be evenly distributed.”

Rural activists are not amused. “Does the focus report follow NABARD’s real mandate?” asked Vijay Jawandhia, farmers’ Leader from Vidarbha. “We propose investment where we need development. Are there any special projections for drought-affected areas? The projections should be to provide incentives to set up agro-industries in less developed regions such as Marathwada and Vidarbha. Repeated neglect is increasing the already existing backlog of these regions. Instead we are again focusing on Mumbai, that already has enough money.” Jawandhia added that loans allotted to industries in Mumbai will be under the agriculture loan label, which carries a number of benefits, like lower interest rates.

Source: The Hindu

Image Courtesy: The Hindu