Wednesday 11 June, 2008

Patil orders crackdown on illegal lenders

Times of India, 4th March 2008

Mumbai: Close on the heels of Sharad Pawar’s statement that farmers need not return loans taken from unlicensed moneylenders, deputy chief minister R R Patil has ordered a crackdown on illegal lenders.

Patil on Monday ordered the setting up of district-level committees under deputy superintendents of police. The new state police chief, A N Roy, will be asked to monitor the situation in the state. Patil admitted, though, that it was often difficult to define an “illegal” moneylender as even larger farm owners lent money to help out smaller farm owners in the same village.

In addition, Patil has asked the police to check the rates of interest being charged by the region’s 7,000 licensed moneylenders. “The rates are staggering and the usual interest charged is about 120%,’’ said Patil. A recent survey showed there were no cases in which an interest below 60% was being charged, Patil added.

Announcement of the loan waiver for farmers had sparked concern among Vidarbha’s cotton growers, who borrowed heavily from lenders after being turned away by banks. TNN

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