A NATIONAL daily on Monday reported that Bangladesh Bank has asked six state-run Commercial banks to receive token money from farmers against their defaulted loans in a bid to saving them from being served with certificate case. The Central bank’s circular comes out at the moment when farmers across the country have been severely hit by political impasse that bowed down their economic strength for long time. The number of unsettled certificate cases stood at 2,05,372 as of November 30, 2014 from 2,02,274 as of January 31, 2014. Courts issued arrest warrants against 10,224 farmers between 1991 and 2014 as they failed to repay bank loans in time. The six state-run banks can file certificate cases with the Executive Magistrate’s courts to recover defaulted loans up to Tk 50,000 from farmers. The defaulted loans involving the certificate cases stands at Tk 570.41 crore on November 30, last year, which seemed adding to headache for the government, though, it has written off Hall-Mark Group’s loan of over Tk 1700 crore only two weeks ago. We believe poor farmers who badly needed relief at this moment must be given space to repay their debts and Bangladesh Bank’s initiative deserves praise.We know banks file certificate case if any loan converts into time-barred debt in line with rules and regulation. The BB asked the banks to hold awareness programmes for the farmers so that they could be saved from being loan defaulters. The banks must inform the farmers about their balance position of the loans from time to time so that their defaulted loans did not convert into time-barred debt. A loan turns into time-barred debt if a farmer fails to repay any instalment for three years in a row after being defaulted. The six banks have to speed up their farm loan recovery programme to avoid filing certificate cases, the circular read. The banks will give award to the farmers who show the best performance in repaying loans. The banks will have to suspend the farm loan realisation programme if the farmers face flood, though, farmers need more help after flood as flood usually washes away crop lands affecting their standing farm products. The common perception about our farmers is they are more honest than any other professionals in the country. The poverty- stricken farmers, though, feed the nation and victimized mostly in any political violence should be subjected of social safety net. While, the big fishes easily go through the net of legal process, why the state opts to tighten the net to capture the helpless small farmers. We believe state should behave softly and kindly to save the burden of loans and hassle of case for the sake of country’s agro-production and for food security.
