Belagavi: Zilla Panchayat CEO Rahul Shinde on Monday directed banks to adopt a humanitarian approach to recovering loans from farmers amid drought conditions and restructure eligible loans with a 60-month repayment period and 12-month moratorium.Chairing a special district consultative committee (DCC) and district-level review committee (DLRC) meeting at Zilla Panchayat hall, Shinde said banks should automatically restructure all eligible standard loans overdue by less than 30 days as of Sept 22, 2026, and Oct 7-2026.He asked banks not to harass or pressure farmers over repayments and to sanction fresh loans without waiting for crop insurance compensation to be credited.Banks have been instructed to exercise caution during recovery to prevent farmers from turning to microfinance institutions or private moneylenders. Even where courts have issued orders against farmers, banks should inform DCC and the concerned parties before initiating enforcement action, Shinde said.Bankers using coercive recovery measures will face an inquiry, and violations will be reported to the State Level Bankers’ Committee for stringent action. Officials said progress on restructuring and relief measures would be reviewed weekly.Canara Bank Belagavi regional manager M Chandrashekhar, lead bank manager Prashant Ghodake, joint director of agriculture HD Kolekar, bank representatives and district officials from implementing departments attended.
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